Their First Encounter
by Akiry
Summary: 7 year old Luffy has never met anyone from outside the island before and when he hears that a pirate ship has been sighted, he is ecstatic. Rushing to the highest peak, trying to get a glimpse of the ship, he encounters Shanks, who isn't all he had expected. /DISCONTINUED.
1. The China Sugar Pot

**Hey! Akiry here with with my first ever fanfiction! I don't think Eiichiro Oda specified how Luffy and Shanks met exactly, although I could be wrong seeing as I'm only at the Water 7 arc (I like to take my time with my favourite anime).  
><strong>**All reviews will be accepted and taken into account seriously, as well as any pointers or advice. I hope no one seems too OOC, please bear in mind that this is my first try.  
><strong>**If you see any grammar errors, be sure to let me know!**

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><p>The early evening's sun glimmered as it overlooked Dawn Island. The day had been humid and lazy; the faintest breeze that had drifted through the air throughout the day had been a relief to all and very refreshing. Across Fuchsia Village, people could have been seen lounging in deck chairs in their front or back gardens or sprawled on the grass, too tired to do any tedious form of working, if any at all. The only places that seemed to have been open were the few cafés and bars of the island, each flocked with sweaty customers demanding cool beverages, growing weary and even ill tempered as the day dragged on.<p>

But as the evening drew nearer, less and less people went out, preferring to stay indoors near their electrical fans, and soon by the end of the day, only a few places were open as most owners and waiters had gone home early, having worked all day through the blistering heat without pause. Still, the sun did it's best to warm the island as though it held a grudge against it and one of the only bars left open was Partys Bar.

The bar was quite old, for it had been resting there for quite some many years, but it was in good condition. And besides, in a quaint little place like Fuchsia Village, few people complained about what anything looked like anyway. Too poor to pay for any form of reparations anywhere, but not really caring about them in the first place, Fuchsia Village really was quite unexceptional. In fact, the entire island was overflowing with ordinariness. Not known for anything important in the world, there were no tourists, and there was no known gold on the island either, so pirates were few. Nothing ever seemed to happen on Dawn Island, and if it did, it was never anything extravagant.

The sign of Partys bar hung a little loosely and the paint was a little frayed. The wood of the beams was aged and the entire place needed a few patches here and there, but none of the damages were very serious.

'You know,' came the sweet voice of a waitress, 'Hot drinks cool you down a lot more than cold drinks,' She was explaining to a customer as she tightened her kerchief around her hair nervously, 'And we are running out of all our cool beverages so…'

'No.' someone interrupted her, he was an old man with a bitter look on his face and was seated at a table far away from the counter of the bar. He had refused to come any closer to the front to place his order, resulting in the young bartender having to go out of her way to leave the counter practically unattended to, to ask him for it.

'I came in here asking for a cold drink. If I had wanted your opinion on the matter then I would have made it clear! Is that so hard to understand? Now get to it!' The man pounded his fist on the table and eyed the young waitress menacingly, who, in turn, bowed her head respectfully and swiftly disappeared below the counter in order to make his order.

The man settled down again and rested his arms on the table as he studied it. The wood was worn and old, but nonetheless clean although it had few stains and scratches here and there. He scoffed as his hand moved over where someone had drawn into the table with his knife and he shifted uneasily in his slightly uncomfortable wooden chair. It had been a long day and he had grown even more restless as the day had coninued. He rubbed his hands together agitatedly as he waited for his drink to be served. He was so into his own private thoughts that he failed to hear the padding footsteps as someone approached him.

'Hey!' spoke a high voice, yanking the old man out of his thoughts, 'Don't be mean to Makino!'

The elderly man turned his head round wearily to see where the voice had come from and spotted a young boy, no more than 7 years old glaring up at him. He was rather short for his age which made his fuming figure seem quite harmless. He had jet black hair and piercing dark eyes; his fists were clenched tight and he raised one now to speak again.

'Did you hear me, old man?' he cried indignantly, 'Or are you too old and deaf to hear me?'

The man glared back at him now. 'If you mean that clumsy waitress, it's her own fault. She shouldn't be dawdling around here, making silly suggestions!' he spat the words out coldly, turning back to his table, 'I asked her for a nice, cold citron pressé with extra ice, and she asks me whether I want cocoa instead!'

The boy's hard look faltered for a moment, 'Citron what?'

'I don't have time to be explaining things to you youngsters,' the man replied quickly, not wanting to talk anymore and turning away from the young boy, 'Beat it, you pest!'

The boy's anger rose once again, 'What'd you call me?'

Just then, the waitress came back into view with a yellow tinted drink resting on a hand tray she held. She noticed the two squabbling and rushed forward, 'Luffy! What are you doing?'

Luffy turned round to face the girl, first angry, but then his gaze softened as he realised who it was, 'Makino!' he grinned, 'I'm saving your reputation.' He spoke proudly.

'Reputation, my ass,' grumbled the man, plucking at his thin, navy blue fleece, 'If anything, you've made it all the more worse. I'm leaving this place; it's no good for civilised people such as myself.'

The man rose, leaning his hands on the table for support, and got out of his table cubicle with some difficulty as Makino tried to make him stay. 'Please, sir, I'm very sorry about him! He's just a child; he doesn't understand what's rude and what's not. Really, I'm so sorry about all of this; I'll take full responsibility!'

But the man would not consent and left the bar quickly with his head held high, muttering something about ill manners and uncouth bartenders, only pausing to shout at a bewildered customer for having his leg poking out from under his table which had caused him to stumble.

The waitress sighed and turned with hands on hips to look down at the young boy who by now had climbed onto the man's table, probably in order to get a better view of the elderly man leaving, and had folded his arms in a callous attempt to make himself appear strong and tough.

'Damn straight!' he called after the man, much to the amusement of many of the other customers.

'Oh, he's so cute and thoughtful…' sighed one woman dressed in a purple jumper, relaxing with a tomato juice in hand, 'I wish my son was more caring.'

Luffy had not heard the woman but joined in with the chuckling that followed, carelessly mistaking them for cheering for his victory.

'Luffy.' Makino spoke, her voice was sharp but the fondness that seeped through it was unmistakable, 'Please stop scaring off the customers, or I'll be sacked.'

The boy turned his head towards her and pouted slightly, 'But he needed to be taught a lesson…' his voice broke off as he stared up at her, crestfallen.

She could not help but laugh lightly and let her shoulders relax as her eyes fixed on his young and boyish features. After all, he'd only been trying to help. At least he hadn't been tugging on the old man's hair, like he had done to a foul-mouthed woman the week before. She snickered at the memory and couldn't help but secretly compare the boy to a small, but ferocious guard dog. A cairn terrier, perhaps.

'Alright,' she sighed and ruffled the boy's hair, which she knew he hated but would allow her to do so anyway, 'I'm sorry. I know you were only trying to help.' She flashed a satisfied smile that caused Luffy's pride to sore even higher as he grinned mischievously back at her and allowed himself to be petted.

He caught sight of the drink she was carrying and was immediately interested in it. 'Citran pressing?' He said as he pointed at it.

The young girl blinked as she quickly worked out what he meant, 'Oh. The citron pressé? Do you want one?' she offered him the glass which he gladly took.

'What's in it?' he asked doubtfully as he smelt the tinted liquid.

'Not much,' the waitress smiled, watching in amusement as Luffy pulled his head back from the drink with a look of disgust on his face, 'Just water, sugar and lemon. It's quite nice, but some people don't like the bitterness of it. Take a sip.'

Luffy didn't need to be given the offer twice. Although rather than a sip, he took a great big gulp of the juicy water and spluttered as the sourness reached the back of his throat. Coughing, he remarked that you'd have to be crazy to be able to drink it and stuck his tongue out in an attempt to rid himself of the prickly flavour. The bartender giggled and playfully told him not to drink it all at once.

'You'll like it if it has more sugar in it.'

She walked back to the counter with Luffy close at her heels who clutched the glass carefully as he glared at it. Luffy stopped following as she went round the counter and watched as she bent down behind it again and retrieved a white, rounded china sugar pot and placed it on the counter before fetching a spoon for the boy to scoop the sugar with. Luffy's eyes widened as he glanced up at the sugar pot in what seemed like almost awe. The acrylic blue design of an anchor on it seemed to captivate his full attention. The bartender eyed him, quite amused.

'Do you like it, Luffy?' she asked as she picked him up to sit him on one of the vacant stools of the bar.

He fidgeted at her helpfulness, proclaiming that he could get up by himself, but as he had now been placed right in front of the little pot, his temper died down fairly quickly and he contented himself with staring at it.

'It's pretty, isn't it? Mayor Woop Slap found it washed up near the coast and brought it to me as a little gift just yesterday. He found it in a crate filled with brown paper to protect it; though it's still amazing how it managed to stay intact.'

'Where did it come from?' Luffy asked, his gaze never leaving the little blue anchor.

'I don't know. But I heard that one of the villagers swore he saw a pirate ship the same day.'

At this, Luffy spun his head round to face her, 'Pirates? A pirate ship? Really? Where?' Upon hearing that one word, "_pirate_", Luffy would always leap to ask as many questions as he could within the shortest amount of time possible.

Makino laughed pleasantly, not surprised in the slightest by Luffy's eagerness. After all, it was rare for the villagers to see a ship in the first place, let alone a pirate ship, 'I'm not sure where. You'd better ask Gyoru, he's the one who saw it.'

Upon hearing this new information, Luffy stood up in his seat with fists clenched, 'I've decided!' he said loudly, causing many faces to turn round his way, 'I will go and see Gyoru and ask him about the mystery pirate ship!' And with that, he hopped down from his chair and started running towards the door.

'Luffy!' Makino called him back, 'Aren't you going to finish your drink first?'

Luffy turned round and stood facing her, nonplussed. He seemed to be considering it. There was a short pause where he said nothing, then, all of a sudden, as if someone had whispered the answer to him, his face lit up and he smiled.

'Oh yeah!'

He skipped back towards the counter and the stool and stood facing it as if challenged by its height. He jumped up; he could reach the top easily but his arms flailed uselessly as he tried to get a grip on the velvet-coloured cushiony material on top. Makino and several customers looked on in amusement as he puffed one cheek up in annoyance. After several more tries, Makino left the counter and lifted Luffy into the air and plopped him down on the seat, much to Luffy's dislike.

Once the young mischief-maker had calmed down a bit, Makino started pouring sugar into his drink and Luffy inspected the sugar pot once more. But his mind was back with the pirate ship, eager to demand Gyoru where he had seen it.

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><p><strong>Please don't hesitate to review and thank you for reading this!<strong>


	2. The Rowboat

**Chapter two is up and Shanks and Yasopp (as well as quite few other characters) have been sighted!  
><strong>**I hope I successfully captured Shanks' character… Tell me what you think!  
>((Edit: For any who read this chapter before, I'm only re-uploading it because I noticed a couple of errors; I'm not sure how I didn't see them before! You don't have to read the chapter again though, nothing really has changed.))<strong>

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><p>'Yo, Luffy! You here to buy some fish?' the fishmonger called cheerfully as he saw the young boy approaching. Despite the warm weather, he was wearing a long shirt that reached down just before the knees to protect him from the messy splatters the fish would make as he sliced them up. He was standing behind the movable counter that stood outside the fishmongers', where all manners of crustaceans and fish was displayed and where passers by would be drawed in by the overwhelming smell of salty seafood.<p>

It was the following morning and as Luffy noticed the man, he hurried his pace, eager to bombard him with questions about the pirate ship he had seen. It wasn't as hot as the day before, but without a single cloud in the sky, the day promised to be warm. He ran the rest of the short distance to him and paused only for a second to catch his breath.

'No. I came to ask about the ship!' he grinned happily.

The fishmonger's smile seemed to falter and he scratched at his stubble as he murmured, 'You heard about that, huh? Who from?'

'Makino told me!' Luffy replied brightly, knowing full well that the humble fishmonger wouldn't be able to deny him the information he wanted whether he wanted to keep it to himself or not.

'That girl… I knew I shouldn't have trusted her not to tell you about it before I had the chance to come see you,' he knelt down on one knee in order to talk more easily, 'You see, Luffy, I'm working at the moment and I can't really talk as well as I'd want to-'

He was cut off by a loud clattering sound coming from inside the little shop where someone shouted 'Gyoru!' from within. Luffy tried to look past him to see what was going on, captivated by the sudden noise, but was brought back to Gyoru as he began speaking again.

'Meet me at around noon; that's when I finish my shift,' he said, gingerly wiping sweat from his brow as he stood up, 'I promise I'll tell you all about it then, okay?'

Luffy's smile faded, clearly disappointed, 'But I need to know _now_!' he whined. From within the shop, the clattering noises continued and more shouts had started up.

'I know, Luffy, but I can't talk right now…' his voice trailed off as he looked into the pleading eyes of the boy and he sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be left alone to get back to work until he told the boy what he wanted to know, 'All right. I'll tell you where I saw it.'

At those words, Luffy's entire face seemed to brighten up, 'Really? You'll tell me?'

'Yeah, why not?' the fishmonger sighed as he rubbed at his head and looked over his shoulder as the clattering and shouting continued, followed by a great deal of swearing. Gyoru concentrated on Luffy and said to him, 'Okay. You know where the mayor's place is, right?'

Luffy nodded excitedly, unable to keep his excitement bottled up as his fists clenched tightly together in impatience as he hopped from one foot to the other on the spot.

'You know how to get to the beach on the west coast from there, right? Okay, so you go straight along that beach until you arrive near the southern coast, you may have to walk a while, and make sure you keep to the highest ground you can find. Soon enough, you should reach a big red and white striped pole with a wind indicator on top. That's where I saw the ship; looking straight at the ocean from there.'

Luffy nodded, going over the instructions in his head so that he wouldn't forget them.

'Thanks fishmonger-san!' he grinned and he began to run in the direction of the mayor's.

'Luffy!' Gyoru called after him. Luffy turned and blinked at him, 'Will I see you at noon?'

Luffy nodded, 'Yeah! I wanna hear about everything!'

The fishmonger smiled and agreed. He would enjoy telling the carefree boy about his experience, even though he didn't find it that astonishing himself. Living on an island in the middle of the ocean with no real riches, it was, he admitted, rather rare to see pirates. But it wasn't like he was the first to see any. Besides, he'd only seen the ship, but none of the actual people. He sighed now as he watched the boy skid round a corner and hoped that he wouldn't be too disappointed.

Luffy was running as fast as he could, eager to get to the border of the south coast. He was so excited in fact, that he failed to spot Mayor Woop Slap come out of his office and hurtled right into him.

'Oof!' the mayor noised as he caught Luffy in his arms as he was pushed backwards, but still remained on his toes. He blinked down at his attacker, quite surprised, 'Luffy!' he stated.

Luffy edged away from the bewildered mayor with his eyes closed as he rubbed his nose gingerly, 'Ow…' he opened his eyes and stared up at the mayor, a look of annoyance displayed across his features, 'Watch where you're going!'

Mayor Woop Slap was not surprised by Luffy's rudeness and chuckled as he gazed down at him, 'Where are you going, Luffy, in such a hurry?'

At this, Luffy let go of his nose and smiled again, 'To the southern border on the coast!' he said excitedly.

The mayor blinked at him, clearly puzzled, 'Why?'

'Gyoru said that that was where the pirate ship was!' the words tumbled out of Luffy's mouth in a quick flurry of excitement, showing the mayor just how eager he was to get on.

The mayor sighed this time, his smile fading, 'Luffy… he saw that ship two days ago. You don't honestly think it'd still be there, do you?'

Luffy pouted, refusing to listen to reason, 'It could come again!'

The mayor knew he could not argue with the boy, 'I'm too old for this.' He mumbled tiredly, 'All right,' he gave in, 'But don't be too unhappy when you don't see it; no one wants to see you slouching around town depressed.' In truth, he cared dearly for the boy, but he wasn't used to letting people see his emotions too clearly 'And I'm sure your grandfather wouldn't be too impressed with you either.'

Luffy nodded, a little annoyed as he thought he was being told off. He started away again, 'Okay, okay. Bye then!'

The old man sighed as he watched him hurry away and his eyes widened a little as he suddenly remembered something, 'Luffy!' he called after him, 'Try not to fall in the ocean this time!'

'I know!' the boy called back, but with a sigh, the mayor wondered whether he really did know.

Racing now across the coast line, Luffy stopped to pant for a bit against an old tree. He had his hands on knees and lifted an arm to mop his sweaty brow. After a few more moments where he regained his breath, he stood up at his full height - which wasn't very tall - and pushed forward, knowing full well that the southern coast was near.

He raced along the beach's coast line, making sure to stay at the top of the hill that overlooked the ocean, keeping to the highest ground and soon ran past a white wooden sign. He didn't pause to look at it as he already knew what it read:

"Southern Coast"

He panted and slowed down; looking around wildly for the wind indicator that Gyoru had told him about. Slightly away from the edge of the hill, just a couple of metres away, he spotted the tall red and white post that the fishmonger had mentioned and ran towards it eagerly.

Upon arriving next to it, he rested a hand on the metal pole and looked up at the orange balloon-shaped sock that blew in the wind freely. It was windier up there, although on a warm day like this, there was hardly any wind at all. An old wooden sign stood next to it. It had been planted rather roughly in the ground and stuck at a funny angle. The rain had washed away most of the letters written on it and Luffy moved closer towards it, squinting to try and make out the words.

"Highest peak… island… altitude…" he mumbled as he tried to make several words out at once but soon gave up; he understood the gist of it anyway and wasn't really interested in any measurements in the first place.

Instead he turned his gaze on the ocean and sat down next to the giant pole; eyes wide and in search of pirate ships and Jolly Rogers. But he didn't see any. And as forty minutes went by the ocean become a little calmer and his grin had faded almost completely as he realised just how naïve he had been. Of course he wouldn't see any ships! The ship Gyoru had seen would be long gone by now. Trying to shrug off the feeling of disappointment, he stood up and slowly started to make his way back towards the village.

He looked down at the ground as he walked, seeing only his sandals and the grass he walked on, not caring about the odd flower he crushed under his feet. With his hands tucked neatly into the pockets of his light blue shorts, he kicked a stone. Miserably, he glanced at the ocean, wondering where his ship could possibly be, but then stopped in his tracks as he noticed something. He moved slightly closer towards the edge and squinted. A rowboat was coming towards the island!

Luffy's eyes widened; he'd never seen anyone from outside the island before, and it looked like they were making their way towards the dock not far from where he stood. The dock was out of use, as the island kept mostly to itself; being too far away from any other island, they never received imports. There had been a time when Dawn Island had traded with others, but soon the other islands had realised the unnecessary hastle of traveling to the poor island, and had drawn back all imports and exports too. But any outsiders would have no idea the dock would be deserted.

Picking up his pace and all thoughts of pirate ships forgotten, Luffy hurried over to the dock to wait for the rowboat to arrive; he wanted to be first to meet the new arrivals!

Meanwhile, the two figures in the rowboat were holding a serious conversation and had not noticed the lone boy hurrying towards their destination. Whilst one of them, the taller one, gangly and blonde, wearing a navy blue shirt and a headband that read "Yasopp", rowed, the other sat back, presumably not doing a lot. He wore a white shirt that was currently unbuttoned, tucked into a deep red sash that was tied at his waist, and a long black coat. His head was down and his face was hidden behind an old-looking, worn-out straw hat and a flock of red hair.

'Captain,' the blonde said to get the shorter ones' attention, 'Do you think what we're doing is right?' he asked urgently.

The captain lifted his eyes to look at his shipmate, revealing three long scars that ran down his face and over his right eye. He eyed the sniper thoughtfully and seemed to be considering how to answer properly. Steadily, he said, 'I cannot say until we get there and take a look around, Yasopp.'

The one named Yasopp bit his lip, clearly his captain's answer had not helped much, and it was clear that he was still worried. A few moments dragged on in silence as Yasopp's frown grew deeper and he looked down at his feet, not meeting the steady gaze of his captain.

'I'm sure it'll be fine,' the one with the straw hat said at last, 'This island isn't well-known and there shouldn't be much trouble here. I've heard there are a few bandits here and there in the lower towns, but mostly it's just filled with village-folk. The marines won't find us here.'

'Or our stash of gold?' the taller man asked hopefully, meeting the captain's gaze.

'Or our gold.'

The two continued to talk quietly, they knew they wouldn't be heard, but they felt that something so important shouldn't be spoken too loudly. All of a sudden, though, the captain remained silent as he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. By this time, Luffy had reached the dock and was waving his arms frantically, trying to catch the strangers' attention.

'Hm? What's wrong?' Yasopp asked, immediately noticing that the captain's attention had gone elsewhere. Knowing that his captain was no longer looking at him but over his shoulder, he turned around and gasped slightly at the sight of Luffy, 'Oh, crap!' he whispered to himself, 'What'll we do?'

The captain seemed somewhat unfazed by Luffy's appearance and waved back, 'Ahoy there!' he called, grinning.

'Shanks! What are you doing?' Yasopp demanded, turning his attention back to his captain.

'What? It's impolite to ignore someone who's greeted you.' Shanks responded, frowning slightly, 'I'm shocked at you, Yasopp; you should learn some manners.' He added as an afterthought.

Yasopp, of course, wasn't very happy with that answer but ignored it anyway, turning his attention towards the kid again, 'We've gotta do something…' he mumbled, half to himself.

'Why?' Shanks asked, somewhat confused, 'It's not like the island wouldn't find out about us.'

Yasopp turned on him now, anger burning deep, 'Then what was the point of hiding our ship before coming here?'

The captain blinked, 'So as not to scare the villagers.'

'But if they're gonna find out about us anyway, as you said, then what's the difference?'

'Well, we've got to check out the island first; make sure it really is as safe as Barbarossa said.' He replied knowingly, 'Then we'll hide the gold and as soon as we've settled in a bit, we'll break it to them gently.' Shanks grinned at this, genuinely believing that his idea was flawless.

Yasopp seemed to deflate slightly at this but carried on rowing, they were nearing the dock now, and he thought that they might as well land after having gone so far as to hide the ship.

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><p><strong>Well, the ending could have been better. I think the chapter might have ended too abruptly.<strong>


	3. The New Arrivals

**Hey, I'm back with a new chapter~!  
>Hope you enjoy this one... I hope no one seems OOC!<br>Also, I'm not entirely sure what age Luffy was supposed to be when he met Shanks, but I know he met Ace afterwards, and he met Ace when he was 7 I think... I might have made Luffy a little old, but I don't really know.**

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><p>Luffy bounced around the small dock, clapping his hands together and dancing around a bit. He had always liked meeting new people; it was boring staying with the same old villagers all the time!<p>

He ran forwards as the rickety boat neared the dock and watched as the two men didn't bother to tie their boat up to any of the stands; it didn't look like there was any rope around anyway. Instead, they sailed past the dock and headed straight for shore. When they had almost reached land, they both stepped out of the boat after having already removed their shoes and rolled up their trousers. They stepped into the knee deep water and heaved the boat up together almost effortlessly as they dropped it onto the soft golden sand.

Luffy ran from his place on the dock over to them, amazed somewhat by their appearances; he'd never seen men like them before. The thought excited him as he wondered who they were and where they came from and so made haste to greet them. He arrived as Shanks was stretching his back; it was a little stiff from sitting down for such a long time. Luffy opened his mouth but no words came out, he was bursting with questions to ask them and didn't know what to say first. As it turns out, Shanks was first to speak.

'Well hi there, kid,' he squatted down to get a better look at him, 'What's your name?'

'Luffy!' Luffy grinned happily but then frowned, 'And I'm not a kid!'

Shanks laughed at the boys' annoyance, 'How old are you then, Luffy?'

'Seven and a quarter!' the boy spoke up proudly.

Shanks blinked at him as he stood back up and ruffled the boy's hair, 'You're a little short for being seven, aren't you? I'll bet you're the runt of the family, maybe of the village even!' he laughed again heartily, ignoring the fact that Luffy was now glowing red and glaring at him.

'Shut up! I'll grow when I want to!' he shouted indignantly.

This time it was Yasopp who spoke, 'Now, now, captain; don't tease the poor boy. He's only little, after all.' He said knowingly.

'I'm not little! I'm big and strong; I can take you two on any day!' he growled, clenching his fists.

'Oh really now?' Shanks asked; he liked this kid.

'Yeah! Blindfolded! You wouldn't stand a chance against me!' he boasted loudly, folding his arms.

Yasopp grinned at this, finally starting to relax. Shanks smiled broadly, 'Oh?' he asked daringly, 'Then why don't you take a blow at me? Hit me with all you've got. Go on, I dare ya.'

Luffy blinked up at him, confused, 'Hit you?' he asked, now unsure of what was being asked of him. Had he heard the strange man correctly?

'Yeah,' the captain spoke. When Luffy only stared at him in response he spoke again, 'What's this?' the captain teased, 'You're not scared, are you?' he lifted an eyebrow challengingly.

Luffy stared at the two men, only now noticing the gun strapped to the sniper's belt and the sword, a daito, tucked in a black scabbard at the captain's waist. His eyes widened for a moment as he assessed the situation, then his eyes narrowed and he walked backwards a little. Then, heaving a battle cry, he ran forwards, fist drawn back and getting ready to punch. Shanks didn't move but stood grinning down at him. Luffy's fist met Shanks' thigh as the boy hit him with his full force, and then quickly drew his arm back and cradled his hand near his chest. He took a few steps back. That had hurt! But he did not whine and he blinked tears from his eyes, not wanting to be judged or teased by the man with the straw hat.

Shanks faked weakness as he hugged his leg in mock agony and fell to the ground, writhing in pain, apparently, as his hat rolled off his head to rest on the sand but he took little notice of it. His sniper friend looked down at him and laughed as Luffy's eyes widened.

'No… my only weakness is my left thigh… how did you know?' Shanks groaned, 'Yasopp, I think my time has come,' he wheezed, turning his attention towards his friend, 'I was too naïve. Tell the crew that I'll miss them…!' he let his head drop to the ground with a small thud.

Luffy said nothing for a few seconds and could only look on in horror, but then ran over to the man huddled on the ground, 'Hey!' he shouted, 'Don't die!' He reached Shanks' side and knelt down next to him, hands shaking as he started to panic, too afraid to touch him. Meanwhile, Yasopp continued to laugh behind him. And noticing this, Luffy turned on him.

'What's so funny?' he cried, 'We need to help him! Don't you care about him?' he asked angrily, although his voice quivered in fright.

But Yasopp did not answer; he was laughing too hard, so Luffy turned his attention back to Shanks. Gripping his collar, Luffy attempted to shake the man awake, 'Ossan, wake up! Ossan!'

Shanks' eyes snapped open with a hurt look on his face, 'Hey now… don't call me "Ossan"… I'm not that old! I'm still in my twenties.' He pouted, but grinned again at the look of shock on Luffy's face as the boy let go of him now, 'You didn't seriously think that'd be able to kill me, did you? You wouldn't be able to hurt me that easily.' He said, sitting up cross legged in the sand and picking up his hat before lifting it to his head.

Luffy's face turned crimson, 'Ossan! You're a liar!' he shouted as he got to his feet, glared viciously at the two laughing men and stormed off and away from the pirates, still not having the faintest idea as to who they were but he no longer cared, and headed in the direction of Fuchsia village.

Shanks sighed although he was still smiling and got up and brushed the sand from his trousers, 'Yasopp, calm down. It wasn't that funny.' But seeing his friend's face made him laugh too, despite having tried to keep it in. As he watched Luffy walk away, mumbling something about "stupid visitors", he wondered whether he had perhaps gone a little too far. Oh well, at least the kid would have learnt something about naivety from his little performance.

After having calmed down a bit, Yasopp said, 'So what should we do first? Explore the rural areas, the beach or the villages?'

'Hmm,' Shanks thought for a moment before giving an answer, 'I think we should head to a village last; save it as a reward y'know? We'll find a bar in a nice, quiet little place and have a drink after scouring the island.'

'We can't scour the island in just one day though.'

Shanks smiled, 'No, but we can at least try. I doubt there is all that much on this island anyway, it's so small…' he broke off, chuckling, 'We'll probably be able to bring the rest of the crew here in two or three days or so.'

'Speaking of the crew,' Yasopp spoke slowly, 'I wonder how they're getting on without us…'

Shanks laughed, 'You say that as if they can't take care of themselves! They'll be fine! After all, Benn is looking after them.'

Yasopp smiled a little, embarrassed of his own mistrust; of course they'd be okay… as long as they kept out of trouble and stayed hidden. 'I suppose Benn will keep them in step… Yeah, he can handle it.' He added, almost to reassure himself.

'Of course,' his captain agreed thoughtfully, 'He wouldn't be my first mate if he couldn't handle the simple task of keeping their heads under the roof for a couple of days.'

Little did they know that most of crew, although staying hidden from sight, was grumbling and sighing, wondering how long it would be until their captain and gunman got back. The whole place seemed dull without them and they had started to miss them already. They were docked at a nearby island, around the side of a cliff where hopefully they would go unspotted. Even so, they had been told to keep as quiet as possible and to go below deck.

The silence was unbearable, as without their jolly captain or their most prized gunman around, the ship just wasn't the same. The atmosphere seemed tense, and just a tad boring, as the crewmates had little to talk about.

'I vote we go after them!' one voice shouted into the quietness of the ship.

There was a silence that followed this call and then loud cheers broke loose from the crew until one man stood up in front of them all, his hair was long and held back in a loose pony tail and he was dressed in all black. A large gun was strapped to his waist and sash and he chewed a blade of wheat.

'No,' he shook his head, his voice loud and deep, 'We'll only cause an uproar if more people go; the island is small, they won't go unnoticed in the first place. We can't have them calling the marines for our heads; you forget that we are wanted men.' He sighed and continued as the room settled down, although a few of the shipmates still fidgeted, 'Besides, do you want to see our captain mad?'

A few shivers went through the room and most of the crew hung their heads, knowing that the first mate was right. Benn Beckman was almost always right, being as intelligent as he was.

'I guess…' spoke one crew member, who was immediately glared at by several of his shipmates, 'What?'

'You were one of the people cheering the loudest!' Sneered a crewmate from where he was sitting around a table.

They were below deck and everyone felt a bit squashed because of the lack of room. Although the galley was large, it was unusual to have so many people down there at once seeing as the crew ate at different times as some people always had to stand on watch or help navigate. But they had been specially instructed to keep their heads under, with only one or two men on watch, so if anyone passed by, they would think the ship was empty and abandoned. After all, it was common knowledge that pirates never left a ship unguarded.

'That's only because I didn't think about the consequences! Benn is right! We can't go after our captain, he'd be furious!' The first man shouted back at his accuser.

'We'd be ignoring a direct order from the captain.' Agreed another.

'And the first mate. We can't ignore Benn's orders either.' Said another.

More voices spoke up, stating their opinions and arguments until everyone was satisfied with the first mate's decision.

'You remember what happened last time we disobeyed an order, right? Shanks almost ended up getting killed…'

'That was the first and last time we'll ever do that again… we really were stupid, weren't we? Bursting into the courtroom like that…'

Benn Beckman sighed, the crew was always like this, one bad memory was remembered and the next thing you knew, the entire ship was left in a state of depression, 'Enough of that,' he spoke in a low voice, but everyone could hear him, 'The last thing we need is for you lot feeling sorry for yourselves if we get attacked by an enemy ship.' A few murmurs broke out at his words, 'We should be safe but you never know,' He continued, 'The Marines aren't as cunning as us, but bandits might not be so smart as to stay away.'

'Pfft! We can take them!' several more cries rose up indignantly, almost challenging Beckman's words.

'I'm not saying we couldn't, but if we let one escape under our noses, then he could tell the Marines.'

'But we'd be fine even if the Marines found us. This is East Blue, not the Grand Line!'

Benn sighed before continuing, feeling slightly agitated by the remarks of the crew, 'That's not the problem. The problem is that if worst came to the worst, we might have to move our ship to stay out of trouble. Then what would happen? Cap'n and Yasopp wouldn't be able to find us.'

'Then we could just all go to Dawn Island and pick them up there.' Someone suggested.

'But then we wouldn't be able to use that island as a safe anymore. If the Marines saw us there, then they might try to confiscate our gold.' A few moments of silence passed as Benn allowed the words to sink in, 'We can't go after them.'

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><p><strong>This one was a little short, but the main purpose was to show why the rest of the crew isn't with Shanks and Yasopp. I hope this clears things up a bit!<br>Tell me what you think! Constructive critisism will be very helpfull for me. :)**


	4. The Secret Cave

**Oooo, a "mystery" cave!  
>-caugh- Enjoy!<strong>

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><p>Luffy slouched all the way back to Fuchsia Village. A pout firmly placed on his lips, he kicked almost everything he passed; from rocks to roots that stuck up uneatly, to stray sticks, to the odd tree that stood by in his way. He felt angry with everything and the more he walked, the more miserable he became.<p>

Used to being such a happy-go-lucky sort of a person, he wasn't accustomed to feeling this way. And if he ever did, although that was quite rare in itself, he could usually just shrug it off easily and pretend he'd never felt down in the first place. But this was different. As soon as he'd heard Makino mention the word "pirate", his mind had been surging and buzzing with ideas of adventures and ships and flags and his dreams and so much more. It was natural for him to be naïve, to believe in something that deep down he knew he shouldn't, but today there hadn't been a single shred of doubt in his mind. He had been going to see pirates.

But that hadn't happened. And the meeting with the strange men with guns and swords had only worsened his day. He had been excited to meet them, being so rare, and for them to be the jerks they were had annoyed Luffy to the point of where he just wanted to punch something. Just who were those guys? And just who did they think they were? Fooling him like that… he should have known better than to get his hopes up about them!

Luffy kicked another stone, this time a little more brutally than usual and gasped as the jaggedness hit the softness of his toe. He scorned as he looked down at his foot as his toe slowly adopted a pure red colour, '_I can't even beat a stone.' _He thought irritably. Reaching down, he picked it up in one hand and examined the new, deep colour that shone on it. It had been a clean cut, and nothing serious, but it had hurt. His grimace deepened as he turned the stone over in his hand as his other one started to clench the air tightly. He gripped the stone firmly between his fingers and drew his arm back, then, with a powerful swing, he sent it hurtling from his point on the hill and down into the sea below.

'Serves you right.' He muttered.

But even this did not lift his spirits, as he thought it might have. After all, he'd only gotten his vengeance from the cut on his toe, but that had nothing to do with pirates or men wearing sashes. He sighed once more as he dug his hands into his pockets and carried along his chosen route, a little slower than before as he winced every now and again as his flimsy sandals brushed other sharp objects.

It took him longer than he had expected to trudge all the way back from the village, and when he finally arrived back, he realised that it must have been a good half hour after his meeting time with Gyoru. Luffy whined out loud as he thought of how the kind man must have waited for him by the fishmonger shop, his metal and beaten old lunchbox in hand, tapping his foot and sighing exasperatedly as he waited for a boy who might never arrive.

Luffy hurried his pace now, walking swiftly past the Mayor's, the old bakery and several other small daily shops before finally arriving outside the fishmongers'. He walked with his head slightly bowed, expecting Gyoru to be angry or at least a little bit annoyed with him for his tardiness, but instead found him managing the till inside. His eyes widened as he looked up at the man working at the counter, weighing and selling a load of salty smelling crustaceans to a young, brown haired woman. They seemed to be holding a conversation, the kind that hairdressers have with their customers, slightly awkward but nice nonetheless, and it was clear that they had not noticed the boy standing in the doorway.

But as the lady turned to leave, she spotted Luffy and offered him a small wave which he returned. Belonging to the same small village, everyone knew each other, and if asked, Luffy could easily tell you that she worked in the bakery he had just passed.

'Luffy!' said Gyoru cheerfully, 'You're here earlier than I expected.'

Luffy said nothing for a moment, wondering whether his mind was playing tricks on him as he vaguely watched as the woman, finding this an opportunity to leave, brushed past Luffy and exited the shop, but not before wishing Gyoru and the boy a nice day. But even after she was gone, Luffy remained silent and Gyoru's eyebrows knitted with curiosity and worry.

'What's wrong Luffy?' he asked, but then all confusion displayed across his features vanished to be replaced with a sad smile, 'Oh, I get it,' he said softly as he undid the latch from the counter and, taking off his apron and setting it down near the till, he walked over to Luffy and placed a rough hand on his shoulder, 'I'm sorry, Luffy. Maybe I shouldn't have told you where I saw that ship after all.'

Luffy seemed about to speak but Gyoru hushed him as he continued, 'I must have brought your hopes up by telling you to go down there. I'm sorry Luffy. Now what do you say, we have a nice spot of lunch together and I'll tell you all about the ship, eh?' A few seconds rolled by where neither said anything until Luffy finally spoke up.

'It's not that…' he started, trying to find his words, 'But… what I mean is, why are you still here?'

'Huh? I work here, you know that.' Gyoru said in confusion.

'No, no, I meant… Well, I'm late-' Luffy was cut off by a loud laugh that came from the man. Luffy looked up in surprise, not having expected anything at all jolly to come out of the man's mouth. Gyoru returned his gaze to meet Luffy's, his hand still had a firm grip on the boys' shoulder.

'Oh, Luffy,' he said, 'You don't need to worry about that! I told the other guys I'd work 'til you got here and then I'd pack up for lunch.'

'So, you're not mad?' Luffy faltered, not having quite understood everything the man was telling him.

'Of course not, no! I anticipated this! Seeing you so excited, I knew you'd probably come back later than you said.' The man beamed down at him now, shocked but pleasantly surprised by the boy's thinking. It definately seemed rare that Luffy would be so considerate.

'Oh, I see!' Luffy smiled, understanding at last, 'So you're not mad. That's good.' He sighed happily as they both laughed, but suddenly Gyoru stopped.

'Luffy, what happened to your foot?'

'Huh? Oh, nothing, just a stone cut me; nothing to worry about.' Luffy replied, giving his foot a little shake to show that it was okay.

'Well it seems okay,' Gyoru said as he bent down to get a better look at it, 'It's better to leave it open, but we should at least clean that blood up. Wouldn't wanna stain your sandals, now, would ya?'

Luffy shook his head forcefully, not having thought of that at all, and followed Gyoru into the back, where there was a sink to wash up.

Meanwhile, Shanks and Yasopp had already started scouring the island, starting with their landing point and gradually making their way north, heading towards Fuchsia Village. They were currently in the forest near the beach. Although, Shanks wasn't sure whether you could really call it a forest, as there weren't nearly as many trees as you might expect.

'_Perhaps the further you go in, the more trees you'll find…'_ he thought vaguely to himself as he flattened a stinging nettle with his foot, a look of satisfaction spreading across his features.

A few minutes passed, the only noises coming from Yasopp, who was looking and rustling through the few bushes that were in the area and from Shanks, who had grown rather bored, and had started bashing the more unfriendly looking plants with a long stick as he walked passed them.

As they made their way further into the undergrowth, Shanks' deduction was right. The quantity of trees seemed to have multiplied enormously as well as the amount of smaller plants, and more than once one of the shipmates would swear as they brushed past nettles.

'Cap'n,' came the voice of Yasopp.

Shanks looked up in confusion from the set of rabbit tracks he had been playfully following, 'Where are ya', Yasopp?' he asked. Yasopp had sounded rather far away and was nowhere in sight.

'Behind you,' Shanks turned round, the voice was clear now and he soon saw his friend emerge from in between two trees, 'I think I've found something.'

A look of concern was clearly visible on Shanks' face, although he tried not to show it, 'What is it?'

However, much to Shanks' surprise, Yasopp just grinned at him and motioned for him to come closer. This sign clearly showed that whatever Yasopp had found couldn't have possibly been bad news, but Shanks still felt the prickly feeling of worry grow in his stomach. After a moments' hesitation, Shanks followed Yasopp through the two trees and opened his eyes wide as Yasopp turned to carefully step his way through a patch of thorny-looking bushes.

Shanks shot his hand out and caught his comrades' shoulder, 'What are you doing?' he asked, clearly suspicious.

'You'll see.' Yasopp grinned, shrugging off the hand and continuing to move forward still.

Shanks followed his shipmate through the bushes, although uncertain as to whether it was a good idea. Soon however, he realised that he was no longer walking in a bush, but in grass, grass taller than he was and he found he had to put his arms out to form a path that he was able to wade through. To say that Shanks was surprised would be an understatement, and he eyed Yasopp suspiciously. Why was he taking him this way?

After a few more steps, Yasopp stopped and turned to his captain, 'I found an amazing cave,' he said, 'I think the forming of it must have been forced by people somehow. The shape of it doesn't seem very natural.' And with those words, he sank to his knees and motioned for Shanks to do the same, and with a bit of reluctance, Shanks followed suit, moving to squat beside his friend.

What Shanks then saw was not what he had expected. In front of him, covered by moss and the tall, unkempt grass of the wilderness, was a cave. But not just any cave; the entrance was small and covered with a few vines, obviously to hide the dirty brown colour that stuck out next to the lush green of the grass like a sore thumb.

'Very nice…' Shanks said slowly, observing his friend who seemed to straighten visibly at the praise, 'But however did you find it?' With this question, Yasopp's grin faltered a little.

'Well… do you want the truth or the good version of it?'

'The truth.'

'I was fiddling with my pistol when I dropped some bullets. I followed them here and slipped on a couple of them, landing me in front of this cave.'

'Ah, I see.' Shanks said, his expression neutral, and Yasopp mistook his captain for thinking that a gunamn with a keen eyesight tripping over his own bullets wasn't a very abnormal thing to do at all, and that he wouldn't be teased for it as he had expected, but of course, he was proven wrong when his captain suddenly let out a burst out laughter.

'Only you would manage to do that, Yasopp!' Shanks laughed in between gasps for air as he held his side.

Instead of arguing with his captain, the gunman decided to ignore his captain's comments, although he cringed as they slightly hurt his pride but he carried on with his explanation, 'Well, anyway, I think there's some kind of trap door inside.'

At this, Shanks stopped laughing immediately and turned to face him, 'A trap door?'

'Yeah. Definately some kind of door of some sort... Only, I think it must have rusted or something. It was cold so was definately made out of metal and it was bolted in, it seemed… but I can't open it. And I obviously couldn't find a latch if there was one; it was too dark inside.'

'Well let's go and have a look then, shall we?' Shanks grinned, feeling somewhat excited by Yasopp's discovery.

Creeping into the cave in single file, Shanks lit a match and found that there was more space inside than he thought. Although the entrance was narrow and they had to go on all fours to get in, they found themselves crawling slightly downwards and discovered that it soon opened up a little to reveal a small space where at least three full-grown men would be able to fit.

'Aha,' Shanks grinned mischievously, his eyes falling on the metal plate in the middle of the floor, 'What have we here, then?'

It was indeed, made of metal, although it didn't look very strong. It was old and definitely falling apart. Shanks was about to praise his friend again when he felt a burning feeling in his forefinger and thumb and yelped as he realised that the match he had been holding had burned him. Letting go of it, he waved his hand in the air, attempting to shake the feeling. Yasopp sniggered behind him and although Shanks could not see him, he successfully succeeded in delivering a soft blow to the head.

'Ow!'

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><p><strong>Tell me what you think, if it's not too much of a bother for you~<br>And for any people worrying, don't! The last chapter of course wasn't the only chapter with Luffy and Shanks talking to eachother in it :P They will meet properly later on... :) I already have it all figured out.  
>TTFN~ Ta Ta For Now~<br>Stay tuned!**


	5. The Unveiling

**Okay guys, I know this one is _really_ short, but I just couldn't make it any longer! I think one of the most difficult parts of writing (fanfiction or not) is making the chapters roughly the same length. I sort of liked how this one ended... but it's up to you guys to tell me what's good and what's not :)  
>I know I havn't been updating a lot recently, which is why Chapter 6 will be up later on today or tomorrow!<br>Enjoy!**

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><p><em>'Alright then Luffy, what do you wanna know first?'<em>

_'Everything!'_

Gyoru and Luffy were sitting in one of their favourite spots; a fallen tree on one of the higher plateaus' overlooking the sea on the East coast. Although the bark was slightly uncomfortable, it was alright once you had gotten used to it, and even if it was a ten minute walk from the closest point of the village, they didn't mind the walking at all. They preferred being able to talk in private, and if that meant walking uphill for a while, it didn't matter.

Luffy had been bounding around Gyoru's feet, asking questions, and trying to guess the right answers to them, too excited to wait for the fishmonger's reply and stating anything that came to mind. But Gyoru had only laughed at this and told him that it was far too much of a bother to talk whilst walking uphill, and that even if he tried to, he would soon run out of breath and then Luffy would have to wait for him to regain it before finishing even a simple sentence, so Luffy had fallen silent, save from the occasional squeak of excitement or the soft sound of him stumbling over one of the many smooth stones jutting out of the hillside. And although Gyoru had not noticed, every now and the, Luffy had cringe slightly; his toe still stung a little, but Luffy hadn't wanted Gyoru to worry about him so he hadn't complained. Besides, he was strong! So he had tried to make as if his foot didn't hurt in the slightest and instead had hurried his way along the hill as fast as he could, ignoring the nagging feeling of wanting to bite his lip with each step.

Once they had reached the tree, Luffy had been first to sit down and had waited obediently as Gyoru had sat down next to him. In truth, he had been happy for a rest, he could relax his foot and the journey uphill had tired him a little.

The trunk he sat on was rather fat, and so he could easily sit cross legged, which was his preferred sitting position. Gyoru had looked at the boy in amusement, noticing how his warm brown eyes seemed to sparkle with enthusiasm, and Gyoru had taken pleasure in opening his tin lunch box extra slowly, just to see how Luffy fidgeted and tried to prevent himself from whining or from ripping the box out of the mans' hands and opening it himself.

Slowly, Gyoru had gotten out two sandwiches and had handed one of them to Luffy, who at first seemed slightly surprised, 'You forgot to get your own lunch, didn't you?' Gyoru had asked, although it had been more of a statement really. Luffy had nodded rather sheepishly, but smiled broadly as he thanked the kind man for his consideration and took a bite out of it.

'Rather windy at the moment, isn't it?' the man had asked, although it was rhetorical, as he had gazed up at the sky where thick clouds were slowly forming. But seeing the boy uninterested in his talk of the weather, he started again, 'What would you like to know first then?' the gruff man had asked the small boy after taking a small bite out of his own meal.

'Everything!' Luffy had replied excitedly, straightening his back slightly, his attention never leaving the man.

The man had laughed, already having expected the answer to be something of the sort, 'Oh c'mon, you have to pick something!' he insisted.

Luffy blinked, ideas of possible questions running through his mind as he tried to pick just one out of the mass. Finally, he said, 'The ship! What was their ship like? Did it have any cool markings? Did it have cannons?'

Gyoru smiled, 'It was very big. I imagine their galley must have been twice the size of Partys' Bar! As for cannons, I suppose it must have had them. I wasn't looking for those, really… I think it had quite a lot of sails too… I suppose for a ship that big, it must need all the wind power it can get.'

'What about the figurehead?' Luffy demanded.

'Ah, the figurehead! I'm not completely sure, but I think it was a dragon.' As he said this, he turned his head towards the sea, taking in the slightly rough lapping of the early afternoon waves and studying how the pale grey sky seemed to be just a little darker than usual.

'A dragon? Cool! I wanna see it!' Luffy whined slightly pitifully, 'Then… then how did you see it anyway?' he wanted to know.

'How?' Gyoru repeated, his attention turning back to the boy, 'Well, my sister lives in the next village. She moved there with her new husband just recently and I had been on my way to visit her; it's strange not seeing her around quite so much… you remember her don't you, Luffy?'

Luffy thought for a moment, crossing his arms as he tilted his head slightly, 'She worked in the clothes shop opposite yours?' he tried.

'That's right, right across where I work. Well, I know I could have taken the shorter route, going along the beach, but I thought that since it was such a nice day, I might as well walk along the higher ground, so I could see the ocean. That's how I saw the pirate ship.'

Luffy nodded perhaps more enthusiastically than he should have, 'And then, and then?'

Gyoru's smile faltered a little as he let the seconds drag, 'Well… that was about it.'

'Huh?' Luffy noised as he polished off his sandwich, taking time for the words to sink in, 'You didn't do anything else?'

'Well what was I meant to do?'

'You should have asked them if I could join their crew!' Luffy stated, pouting slightly, as if this were the obvious thing to do when spotting pirates.

His friend couldn't help but laugh at the seriousness in the child's voice, 'Ask them to take you with them? Oh Luffy, you're ten years too little to be able to go on a pirate ship, maybe even more!' the man teased.

'Shut up! I'm strong! Just like I told those guys earlier!' Luffy spoke loudly and indignantly, hurt by Gyoru's lack of confidence in him and with a new anger burning as he remembered the red-head's trick from before.

'"Those guys"?' Gyoru blinked, 'Ah, did the guys in your class tease you about your pirate dreams again?' he asked, concern running deep in his voice.

'No,' Luffy replied gruffly, looking down at his hands, just a little embarrassed, 'The visitor guys.'

'Visitors? What visitors, Luffy?' Gyoru's face had grown stern and he waited impatiently for Luffy to answer.

'There were two guys in a rowboat. I don't like them, they were mean Ossans!' Luffy stated angrily.

'Two guys in a rowboat…?' Gyoru's voice stung with worry, and he gripped both of Luffy's shoulders, forcing the boy to look up at him, 'What did they look like? Tell me, Luffy!'

Luffy blinked at the man in confusion, what was he so upset about it? 'Uh… well they were tall – one of them had a straw hat and a long coat, the other had something on his head, some kind of head band…' he narrowed his eyes in concentration as he tried to recall their features, 'Oh and the one wearing the straw hat had some scars on his face.'

Gyoru's eyes had widened as Luffy's explanation went on and his grip on the boys' shoulders had caused him to try and squirm free of his hands, 'Gyoru, that hurts!' The fishmonger let go but he continued to stare at the boy, 'Scars…? Were they long and over his eye? Three of them?'

Luffy blinked as he rubbed one of his shoulders, 'Yeah, how'd you know? Do you know him, Gyoru?'

'The ship… the pirate ship – their Jolly Roger had three scars over the right eye.'

A few moments of silence passed as both stared at each other, Gyoru in shock as a flush of deep worry burned its way through his veins, and Luffy, in confusion.

'What?' he asked unintelligently.

Gyoru visibly deflated at the boys' ignorance. 'Luffy, don't you see? Those men… they must have been pirates!'

Luffy stared up at his elder, at first in non-understanding, but then his eyes grew wider as something managed to click in his brain, 'What?'

Shanks and Yasopp slouched through the undergrowth, not bothering to move faster than their already snail's pace.

'Captain… where are we?' Yasopp whined for the umpteenth time.

'We're… well…' Shanks began, not quite sure just how to continue, 'We're in a forest.'

Yasopp looked to the sky, seeing mostly only trees and the overhang of their long and winding branches, '…Well I can see that.'

'Oh, I don't know, Yasopp! We've been here for hours, haven't we!' Shanks snapped; he was beginning to lose his temper with his shipmate.

'You said this was a small island.' His friend continued to complain, 'We shouldn't be able to get lost on an island of this size.'

'We're not lost, we're just…' Shanks trailed off.

'Just what, cap'n?'

'We just don't know where we are.' He finished.

The two had finished off their work in the cave and had been wandering round the forest in search for any possible exit so they could go to the closest friendly-looking village they could find and get a drink and maybe something to eat. Yasopp, being a gunman, had rather efficiently brought a couple of bombs with him and they had set one of them on the barred door in the floor. Just one bomb had been enough the blow the latch off, it was so rusty, and they had eagerly slipped into the room revealed underneath.

A few minutes passed where the pair tumbled and jumped over more rocks and roots, still unable to find their way through the thickness of the grass and the denseness of the trees. One of them would stumble now and then and the other would look their way to make sure they were okay. Soon, they found themselves in a small clearing. A clearing both of them were sure they had passed a dozen times now. Shanks drew a hand down his face, not wanting to go any further. Yasopp just stared at his captain in disbelief.

'We're lost, aren't we?'

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><p><strong>Please tell me your thoughts, whether they be complaints, advice or praise :)<strong>


	6. The Commotion and the Runaway Boy

**As I promised; here's Chapter 6!  
>The description for the mayor's house might have been a bit hasty, I think...<br>I'm in the middle of writing chapter 8 at the moment, but the 7th still needs a bit of rectifying. I might not be able to upload until next Saturday due to tests and art projects, but it shouldn't be _too_ long till my next upload -w-  
>Hope you enjoy!<strong>

**edit: Sorry for the re-upload, I can't believe I left a space with a "_?" and forgot to fill it in!**

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><p>The evening sun's golden reflection shone glimmering through cracks in the dark sky's clouds, revealing all manners of sea life living their everyday peaceful lives, resting on coral or in the warm beach's sand without a care in the world, while on shore, Fuchsia Village was in a state of panic. It was unusual for it to be so noisy and full of motion, and here and there, people rushed from group to group, gossiping, worrying, saying what they thought on the whole matter. And everywhere everyone tried to speak louder than the other, trying their best to be heard so that their friends and family would follow their choice of course of action.<p>

From his cabin, Mayor Woop Slap appeared, clutching a walking stick with a stern look upon his face. As people noticed him walk through the crowds, the air turned silent as all faces fell on the respected man. He was walking at a steady pace towards the most crowdest of places, where all the commotion had first started, Partys Bar. There, Gyoru was speaking, telling everyone about the famous pirate ship he had seen a few days previous, pushing fear into the hearts of all who listened. He was speaking to the shrillest of people and the most gullible; the young girl who worked part time at the flower shop, the younger and more gossipy of mothers and their children, as well as the most elderly of the village, who knew the most about terrifying pirates.

To say that Mayor Woop Slap was not impressed would be an understatement. He disliked panic with a passion and would give his all to stop it. As he approached Gyoru, who was still unaware of the mayor's presence, his eyes narrowed slightly as he saw the fishmonger's arm stretch downwards as he tried to hold something in place.

'No! You have to stay here and tell everyone what you saw!' the usually humble fishmonger was shouting.

'No way! I'm going home!' came an angry voice, although the mayor could not see who it had come from.

Meanwhile, the rest of the huddling group had fallen silent, as they had suddenly become aware of the mayor's presence. And as he continued to move forward, a parting took place to let him through. No one said anything as they did this, but relieved looks were passed all around, and as they stepped out of the mayor's way, Gyoru was revealed struggling with a very bad-tempered Luffy.

'Stay here! Don't you want to help the village? You have to tell them!' Gyoru tried to persuade the boy, holding a firm grip on his arm.

'I don't need to; there's nothing to worry about!' the boy retaliated as he tried to pull away from the man.

This little spectacle continued as the mayor tried to catch the pair's attention my clearing his throat as the rest of the village watched and wondered when the two would notice the lack of commotion in the air, as suddenly, Luffy bit hard into the fishmonger's hand and finally was free of Gyoru's grasp. Without hesitating, he plunged into the crowd, dodging the odd person's grabby hands and swerving through the masses as he ran straight to the east coast.

'Luffy!' Gyoru called after boy, but he did not chase him as he knew he would never catch him. It was only then that he noticed the mayor, 'Oh… Mayor Woop Slap.' He started rather awkwardly, 'I'm sorry about that… Luffy…' he trailed off as he rubbed at the fresh wound on his sore hand, 'He just won't listen to reason.'

The mayor studied him for a moment before saying, 'I don't know what's going on around here but you seem to have caused quite the commotion,' he indicated the huddle around them and his eyes widened slightly as he noticed Makino near the front of the crowd, a serious expression clearly visible on her face. Makino was a smart woman, and if she thought that whatever Gyoru was telling the village folk was important, then it had to be, 'What on Earth is going on, Gyoru?' His tone had become sharp as his head snapped back to face the fishmonger, 'Come to my office. You can tell me everything there.'

And with that he turned away, parting the small crowd easily as he walked in the direction he had come from, not offering the slightest glance at any of the people who were looking at him. After a moment's hesitation, Gyoru obediently followed, although he wasn't sure why he couldn't just explain it to the mayor right then and there, but he didn't complain as he had seen his superior angry before and didn't fancy receiving a serving of his sharp tongue.

They walked swiftly back to the mayor's place together. No one followed them, recognising the stern look on their leader's face, no one liked to see him angry.

Gyoru cleared his throat as he began speaking, 'Well, what happened was-'

'Don't tell me just yet,' his elder interrupted, 'Wait until we are in my office.'

The door to the mayor's office was opened by a tall, blonde woman inside wearing glasses named Clarissa. Gyoru offered her a small smile as he walked past her but it was not returned. Her piercing blue-grey eyes were kept steady as she looked him over carefully, as if judging his appearance; she had never been known for speaking much.

Although the building was known as "the office", everyone knew that it was really the mayor's house, and that his private bureau was actually just a study, but it was a large building, larger than anyone else's in the village in any case, and so it was seen as a privilege to be invited round. But Gyoru of course knew full well that this would not be a tea and cake visit, but a serious one.

As they entered the house, Gyoru had to admit that although the house was bigger than anyone else's, it wasn't really any better than his own. The wallpaper was peeling here and there, a few neglected dust balls could be seen in corners and along the sides of a small mantelpiece, and the entire place smelt of cheap air freshener, meant for covering up the musky smell the older houses of Dawn Island usually had the misfortune of having. And when the room to the bureau was opened, the door creaked just like most of his own.

The bureau was painted a light yellow colour and on the mayor's wooden desk stood a dark green desklamp. In front of the desk were two wooden chairs and behind was a comfy looking, although slightly worn, old leather wheelie chair. Up on the wall were a few framed photos, mostly landscapes that the mayor had taken pictures of on the Island during his youth. Gyoru eyed a photo of a golden sunset and decided he rather liked it, but was brought back to his thoughts of pirates as he recognised the place it had been taken; right near where he'd seen the ship.

The mayor walked past Gyoru to sit at his desk and indicated for his visitor to do the same, and although the fishmonger did not very much want to sit, he politely took the offer, deciding that it was probably better to do what was expected rather than what he himself wanted to do.

Looking solemn over his oval shaped glasses, the mayor started, 'So, Gyoru. What's so important that you have to say that's gotten the whole village into a fluster?'

And so Gyoru's explanation began. Being under pressure, he spoke quickly and often had to repeat things more clearly; the mayor never told him to calm down as he knew that by doing so makes the person even more nervous and never interrupted the shop worker's story, but instead took notes on a piece of paper. As he listened, his face had become grey and tired-looking, but also anxious and maybe just a little bit scared. By the time Gyoru had finished explaining, the now perturbed mayor was staring at his informer in shock.

'But what I don't get,' Gyoru said thoughtfully, taking his time in speaking for once, 'Is why Luffy doesn't want to tell anyone about the pirates he saw. It's almost as if he doesn't care about the saftey of the island!' He looked down at the hand that Luffy had scarred, seeing the teeth marks still plainly visible. He had been subconsciously glancing at them every now and then since the beginning of the interview.

'Of course he won't want to,' the mayor replied, causing Gyoru to look up at him curiously, 'You know how long the boy's admired pirates. He thinks you're wrong; he doesn't believe you. Or maybe he just doesn't want to… He told you they made fun of him, didn't he? He won't want to believe that the people he looks up to the most were nasty to him.'

Gyoru thought about it a while and finally nodded, 'I suppose that makes sense… but he has to come to his senses some day! If the pirates have brought one good thing, it's that Luffy won't want to be like them anymore!'

'Don't speak too soon, Gyoru,' the mayor replied, putting his hands together and sitting farther back in his chair, 'They haven't done anything yet. Maybe they just need some new supplies.' But he could not meet Gyoru's eyes.

"Mayor… don't try to fool me, please. We both know that pirates bring trouble wherever they go. If we don't do something soon, they're going to be looting and pillaging and shooting people and… and I don't know, pirate stuff!'

The mayor nodded, he had never been very good at lying and decided that it would be better if he stayed honest, 'But what can we do?'

Cold beads of sweat ran down Luffy's forehead as he ran farther and farther away from the crowded village centre. He didn't know where he was going. He had thought about going home first, but had decided against it in the end, knowing that his grandfather would be very angry with him for skipping his daily chores once again and would probably beat him; so he decided to let his legs take him wherever they saw fit.

As he passed the southern coast border, he found himself back next to the orange and white striped pole. Here he paused for breath; he had been running for a good 25 minutes or so and needed a break, so he lay on the grass and waited for his heart to revert back to its normal, steady pace.

Here he could finally think clearly about the men he'd met earlier on without Gyoru insisting they were pirates and without the villagers crowding round him, demanding answers to several questions at once. He closed his eyes and smiled at the cold refreshing wind lapping at his face.

He thought back to the men's appearances. One had a gun, and the other a sword, Luffy could not deny that those, although very short descriptions, did sound like pirates. He frowned. They couldn't be pirates! Even if they looked like them, pirates didn't tease people like that when they first met them… did they? His eyebrows twitched slightly as he thought of Mayor Woop Slap's description of pirates when he had first heard about them.

'What's a pirate?' he had asked. Although being only three, it was still rather unusual he hadn't heard of them. He had gone directly to the mayor's place, knowing already at his young age that he knew a lot more than most of the villagers.

'Pirates? Where did you hear about them?' the mayor had replied.

'Some of the people in Party's bar were talking about them,' Luffy replied tiredly. The only bad thing about asking the mayor for information was that he always wanted to know the back story, 'So what are they?'

'I'm surprised you don't about them, your grandfather being a Marine and all…'

'Grandpa Garp hunts pirate scum but he always ignores me and laughs when I ask what he means; but I wanna know about pirates!' the small boy cried, becoming impatient.

The mayor on the other hand, was quite taken aback, 'Scum? He… Who told you he hunts _"scum"_?' he demanded.

'Huh?' Luffy blinked, 'He did of course.'

The mayor sighed, not actually very surprised, 'And did he tell you anything about why he hates pirates or why they are scum?'

Luffy narrowed his eyebrows, why was the mayor talking about scum? He had asked about pirates! Still, he had to admit, he wasn't entirely sure what scum were either. But he thought he could make up for it, so hesitantly, he said, 'People the Marine's don't like.'

'Yes… And do you know why?' the man edged on.

Here Luffy thought for a moment before replying, 'Because they don't like the Marines either?' he tried.

The mayor scratched the back of his neck, 'Well, that's not entirely false… "Scum" isn't a very nice word, Luffy, so you shouldn't use it. And scum aren't very nice people either; it means they are despicable, worthless dregs. And that's what pirates are.'

A silence passed where Luffy stared up at the man, his mouth slightly open. 'Ohhh…' he noised. And mayor Woop Slap was impressed; it looked like Luffy had understood him. But then, the boy's head tilted to one side as a puzzled look took over his face, 'What?'

The mayor had then explained what it meant to be a pirate, to be a person outside the law, who does whatever they want whenever they want, how they fight, how there were many different kinds of pirates out there, how they took whatever they wanted, how they were fearless, and how they were all after the same goal: to find One Piece.

Luffy had been amazed by this new information his grandfather had never told him, and from the mayor's description, he had decided that pirates were fascinating, and that he wanted to be one too. If Luffy, who had always had to follow the strictest of rules at home, was a pirate, then he would be free from his grandfather and be able to do whatever he wanted! And with this idea in mind, he had rushed home sprinting, to slam the door wide open and declare to his grandfather that from that moment on, he was to be called a pirate.

To say that his grandfather was unimpressed would be an understatement. That day had not only been the day he had decided his future for himself, but also the day where he had received his biggest punishment.

Luffy blinked awake, and seeing the evening's solemn sky, he realised that he had fallen asleep. He shivered as he noticed how cold it was and scrunched his eyes as a heavy wind whipped his face. He stood up, knowing that it was late and that he should go home to receive Garp's punishment. What was it the old man had asked him to do today anyway? He was sure he had told been to collect something…

It didn't matter. What he needed right now was shelter, he realised, looking up at the grey clouds as it started to rain, and he stood up and ran into the woods with the canopy of trees covering his head and sprinted his way back in the direction of the village.

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><p><strong>It may have ended a bit abruptly :s<br>Onwards now; to Chapter 7!**


	7. The Storm

**For anyone who doesn't know, "sweet flag grass" is a type of grass. It's quite long for grass and has scented leaves, usually in clumps I believe. But I don't think they can grow up to your waist… but this is a One Piece island, so who cares~? And now that my botany lesson is complete, you may read :)**

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><p>As Luffy ran, the sky grew darker and more and more foreboding, and although the little boy would never admit it, he was petrified. Even though the overhang of trees was thick in the woods, it wasn't stopping much rain coming through, the drops falling like bullets; they swiftly rolled down the branches and crashed through the leaves onto the quickly softening ground below.<p>

Lighting stuck and Luffy's head turned upwards, trying to make out the sky through the thick leaves. But it was no use; he couldn't keep his eyes open because of the amount of rain falling. Luffy slipped a few times in his sandals, his feet soaking wet, and with mud splashing against his legs and heels as he ran through puddles. His entire body was drenched, the downpour being so heavy his clothes were a useless defence against the wet and he shivered.

He should have been back in the village by now, safe and sound in Partys Bar; Makino would fuss over him and grab a hand cloth as a make-shift towel from the bars' metal hand rail that ran along the inside of the counter, and he would try and stop her from drying him, insisting that he could do it by himself as she would hastily tell him off, telling him never to go out again during a storm, how he was going to get a cold.

But Luffy wasn't with Makino. He wasn't being told to look better care of himself. He was stuck in the eye of a storm. And although Luffy was familiar with the forest, having spent a great deal of his free time there, it looked different at night; it was darker and frightening now. A great crack of gold lit up the sky, momentarily creating shadows and faces in a second and disappearing in the next. Luffy gasped as he saw eyes and mouths in the holes of trees and tripped over a root, but stood up again almost immediately as another flash flitted across the sky.

He looked down at his feet as he surged through the trees, not wanting to see what was around him. By now, he was well and truly lost, but he knew that if it was light he would easily be able to find his way home. He lifted his head, deciding that he needed to be able to see clearly to escape from the woods, but it was already too dark.

Suddenly, he crashed into something hard that sent him crashing backwards and he closed his eyes and put his arms out in front of him to help break his fall, but was surprised when he found that he was not falling anymore and, opening his eyes slowly, he realised that he was being held.

'Kid, you okay?' someone said, but it was too dark to see the man who was clutching the boy tightly who was now knelt on the ground.

Luffy nodded nervously before realising that whoever was there wouldn't be able to see him. 'Y-yeah.' He answered shakily.

He heard a sigh of relief and was surprised when he found himself being lifted upwards, 'Don't worry, kid, I gotcha,' the voice said. It was soft and kind and although Luffy was being called a child, he found he did not mind; it seemed reassuring as if the man was someone he could trust, and he buried his head into the man's drenched clothes, believing almost immediately that the stranger would take care of him now. Feeling around the strangers' neck, Luffy gripped it tightly. The tears that had grouped together in his eyes began to roll down his cheeks and Luffy shifted as he tried to stop them, his breathing heavier than usual.

'Hey there…' the man carrying him cooed, 'Don't be scared. No harm will come of you; you can relax now.'

And Luffy calmed slightly, his breathing becoming steadier as he choked back tears. He wound himself tight as he allowed the man to carry him easier, tucking his legs in but still keeping a firm grip around the man's neck.

And the man started to walk, cautiously as first but then faster. He was worried about the kid and didn't want to scare him. '_What irresponsible parents,'_ he thought angrily to himself, _'Letting their kid run around in a storm like that…'_ and his grip tightened around the boy, breaking into a run as he headed for shelter.

After a while, the man stopped running, slowing to a jog and then to a walk, 'Hey kid,' he said softly, 'You're gonna need to let go of me for a minute, so we can go inside.'

He felt the boy nod and carefully the man let him stand on his own. The boy had not let go of him until he was safely on the ground so the stranger took the boy's hand in his own, 'You'll like this,' he said, trying his best to sound excited so the boy would feel safe, 'We're about to enter a hideout. Only two people know about it, as far as I know, and you're about to be the third.'

And the man started walking, gently pulling the boy along with him. Luffy felt tired, the excitement having drenched his strength away and he wobbled tiredly every few steps.

'You need to be careful here; we're about to go through some very long grass. It's so long, it reaches up over my waist!' Luffy could hear the smile through the voice and he looked up once again to try and make his helper out but found he was still shrouded in darkness. The only think he could make out was a hat on his head, which hid the rest of his face in shadow.

Luffy did not like walking through the grass; he had always hated being wet and this was damp and slimy. He put a hand out as he walked through, attempting to cover his face, but was only slapped by the wet stems as they fell against him.

After a while, Luffy felt the man next to him stop, 'Okay. Here, you need to get on all fours.'

Luffy didn't even ask; he was feeling weary and wanted to sleep. Vaguely he wondered whether he was dreaming, or whether this was actually even happening.

'This might be hard,' the man said, 'You're gonna need to let go of my hand so we can get through. But you should be able to know where I'm going, shouldn't you?'

The boy wasn't really listening, too weary to care for anything other than warmth and he nodded his head. Of course, the man couldn't see him but he took his silence as a "yes". Then both dropped to all fours and started crawling through the sweet flag grass. Luffy squeaked as a blade hit his eye but he kept on going, and soon, the man stopped again.

'This is where we enter the hideout,' he said, 'You go in first, so I can keep an eye on you. Don't worry, it's not far.' And he crawled out the way for the boy to hesitatingly advance. Luffy squinted, trying to make out the "hideout" and opened them again as he started to make out the small mouth of a cave. He hesitated only for a moment before nervously crawling forward.

He flinched slightly as he felt the cold earth under his hands, the shelter from the cave having left the whole place dry, and he gasped as he soon found himself in a round, underground cellar. In the middle of it was a square hole in the floor where a beam of light was coming from, and moving closer, he gaped as he saw that a ladder sticking out of it. He looked round and noticed what appeared to be the ex-cover of the hole made of rusting metal; its latch had been blown off.

He turned his head round as he heard a shuffling noise behind him and stared in horror as he recognised the straw hat appearing from where he had just came.

'Phew,' came the man's voice, still soft as he kept his head down. Then, looking up, he too recognised the boy he had met just earlier that day.

The two gaped at each other, neither believing their eyes.

'It's you!' Luffy breathed, too shocked to say anything else.

The red-head stared at him before his face broke into a grin, 'Well hey there, kid! We meet again!'

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><p><strong>Wow this one was short… I hope it didn't get confusing when I described the faces and trees and such in the forest…<br>****I'm not entirely sure when the next one will be up, but I'm working my hardest to get these out!  
><strong>**Please tell me what you think; I love hearing what you have to say and it makes me want to write more for you!**


	8. The Scolding

**If I'm honest, I'm not all that happy with how this chapter went... but I couldn't figure out how to change it. I wanted Luffy to get a glimpse of Shanks' power without having bandits attack or something, but I might have, as a result, made Shanks a little too OOC... Tell me what you think though!**

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><p>'Shanks?' came a familiar voice, 'Already back from hunting? You can't have gotten much in that short amount of time… What's all the noise about?' The soft sound of feet on wood was heard and out from the trapdoor, Yasopp's head appeared.<p>

'Yasopp!' Shanks greeted his subordinate, 'Look what I found!' he grinned mischievously.

Yasopp turned to look where his captain was indicating, and his face turned grave as he stared into the young boy's fierce eyes, 'Cap'n…' he started hesitantly, 'I know you're hungry but… we can't eat a kid.'

'What?' Luffy shouted, his mouth and eyes open wide as he stared fearfully from one man to the other, then, his full attention on Shanks, he shouted, 'You were planning on eating me?' He backed unsteadily away from the man, ready to crawl as fast as he could out and away from them and the cave, but hesitated when the strawhat laughed.

'Of course not!' he laughed, first rustling Luffy's hair and then crawling on all fours over to his mate, 'Yasopp, you sure think of some weird things. Don't go scaring the poor kid!' He said, lightly hitting him round the head, much to his shipmate's dislike.

Luffy stared at the two, watching intently as the two squabbled, Yasopp telling his captain that he wouldn't have been at all that surprised if it had been his intention to eat him, his captain being so unpredictable, to which Shanks pouted and whacked him round the head again, proclaiming that his sniper needed to have a bit more faith in his captain.

But what Luffy was really listening to wasn't what they were talking about as such, but their choice of words. The strawhat had been called "_Captain_" and he had referred to himself as one as well. The other had been called a "_sniper_". Could these two really be pirates? No! They must be marines! If all marines were like Grandpa Garp, then they just had to be…

Yasopp turned his attention on Luffy, 'So, why's the kid here?' he asked, watching his captain thoughtfully, 'Why would you bring someone outside the crew here? Isn't this dangerous? '

"_Crew_…"

'I wasn't about to leave him scared and alone in the forest at night, Yasopp… I would expect you of all people to understand that; besides, I don't think he poses a threat. We can count on you to keep this place secret, can't we, kid?' he asked smiling and Luffy nodded sheepishly, still not sure what to think of the eccentric man.

'What?' Yasopp blinked, surprised, 'He was _alone_? In _this _weather?' And when Shanks nodded he turned his gaze on Luffy once more, 'Kid, that's not safe… don't do that again.'

'I would have been fine without him!' Luffy said stubbornly, crossing his arms, not wanting to show any sign of weakness, 'I didn't need his help.'

Yasopp stared at him curiously, 'Well I hope my son has a bit more common sense than you do,' he muttered, 'You said before you were 7, right? My kid must be about the same age as you now then.'

Shanks chuckled at this, 'There you go on about Usopp again.' He laughed, 'A word of advice kid, don't let him talk to you about his son; he'll never shut up.'

Yasopp huffed, rather hurt by his captain's words, but then sighed as he realized it was probably true. 'Anyway,' he continued, 'I reckon we should contact the crew about our findings.'

'That's fine by me.' Shanks agreed, 'Call Benn and tell him we've found a good place and that we'll be back in a day or two.'

Yasopp nodded and made his way over to the ladder and Shanks and Luffy watched as he descended the ladder carefully until he finally disappeared into the hole.

A moment or two passed where neither said anything, Shanks stared fondly at the boy and Luffy, not quite sure what to do with himself, fidgeted with his fingers.

Finally, Shanks started, his smile having suddenly vanished from his face, 'So what were you doing out there so late? That really wasn't a very safe thing for you to do.' His face was stern and he spoke slowly.

Luffy's face burned red, and standing up, he found he was just short enough to stand in the small cave, 'I'm not a kid! I'd have been fine if you'd just left me where you found me!' he shouted back at the captain, crossing his arms and pouting slightly. It was his fault that he'd been out in the storm in the first place. If he hadn't met him, Gyoru wouldn't have been mad and Luffy wouldn't have had to run away like that.

Shanks chuckled, his gaze leaving Luffy as he stared at the wall of his hideout, his face swallowed by the shadows caused by his hat, 'Is that so?' he asked.

Luffy hesitated, but after a moment he responded with a harsh 'Of course!'

'I see,' Shanks said slowly, 'You'd have been fine without me then? Out in the storm on your own, running.'

Luffy visibly flinched at the memory of the storm and his once firmly crossed arms loosened slightly. 'Yes.' He said again, but he had now completely lost the power in his voice that he had had before.

Shanks stared at the wall blankly, a slight frown visible on his face, 'How ungrateful of you.'

Luffy's mouth had opened to retaliate, but it had closed promptly as no words had come out, not knowing how to respond to his elder's remark. And as Shanks' gaze turned back on Luffy he shuddered at the man's features.

'You'd have been fine, you say?' although Shanks' expression was one of deep fury, he spoke in almost a whisper, but what he had said could not go unheard. Something in him had changed, the happy-go-luckyness gone from his voice and eyes, replaced by anger.

'Well…' Luffy hesitated and he backed away as the man's eyebrows narrowed further, 'I'm stronger than you think.' He said and looked away, not able to meet the man's eyes.

But he could not look away for long. He could feel the man's dark pupils burning into the side of his head, and when he looked up again he could not look away.

Red fury ran through Shanks' eyes, and although Luffy was freezing cold he felt a bead of sweat drop down the side of his face. He stared panic-stricken up at the man, who now seemed much bigger, ferocious and imposing, and he backed slowly away from him until he reached the cold surface of the cave. He gulped. But still Shanks did not advance on him but remained where he sat, his back hunched slightly, both hands gripping his ankles.

'You would have been fine?' he asked again, his voice stung with poison outrage.

Luffy nodded sheepishly now, and although scared he refused to give up on what he had said, 'I'm braver than I-'

'You spit in the name of "brave"!' Shanks shouted, his voice ringing through the cave, causing echoes, 'How could someone like you, a 7 year old boy, even hope to know what it means to be brave?'

Luffy stared at the man in pure fear and his face grew pale. He wanted to run but Shanks was blocking the way out and he whimpered slightly.

'You don't know what being brave means!' Shanks continued in the same voice; that loud, booming, deep, heavy voice that could frighten the toughest of creatures away.

Luffy nodded now, agreeing entirely with the man, his eyes never able to break away from him.

A silence passed where Luffy gripped the wall with his hands as if wanting to merge into it, staring fearfully at the man that only half an hour ago he had been hugging affectionately. And gradually, Shanks' face softened slightly.

'You should never have been out there; it's dangerous for young boys to be wandering around at night. And in a storm too!' Shanks' voice still had a small trace of venom in it but it has softened considerably, but Luffy did not dare let himself take his guard down and continued to keep his distance from Shanks.

'Honestly…' Shanks said gruffly and he crawled over to the boy. Luffy stiffened at the sight of the man approaching him and he scrunched up his eyes as he prepared himself for whatever was to come. Shanks' hand met Luffy's head, who flinched at the contact, but was surprised to find it had not hurt. Peeking up at the man, he opened his eyes again.

'What were you thinking?' this time, a soft smile was visible on the man's face, and instead of furious, the captain seemed concerned.

Luffy stared up at the man in surprise as he recognised the back and forth motion of Shanks' hand as he ruffled the boys' hair. His eyes prickled again as new tears formed in his eyes and Shanks, seeing the boys' unsteady reaction, drew him into a soft hug.

'Silly kid…' Shanks mumbled, his eyes now only slightly open as he stroked Luffy's head, 'I'm sorry, Luffy. You don't need to be scared of me; I won't hurt you.'

Luffy's loose hands became fists as they once again held the fabric of the redhead's dark coat, burying his face in the soft material and he nodded once more.

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><p>'Cap'n…' Yasopp hesitated, having just come up the ladder after hearing all the noise from above, 'May I…?' he was carrying a small den-den mushi in his hand and he showed it to Shanks now, who was at present sitting next to a sleeping Luffy, his face lowered.<p>

But now Shanks met his shipmate's gaze, 'What's wrong, Yasopp?'

'No…' he started, 'Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to tell you that I called the crew. They haven't been spotted yet as far as they know; they saw a couple of kids playing near them but they didn't pay any attention to the ship. It seems no one suspects anything.'

'That's good news,' Shanks nodded, 'Thank you for telling me, Yasopp.' He glanced down at Luffy under his hat; the boy had fallen asleep in his arms, exhaustion having finally taken hold of him, and Shanks was not surprised. 'Let's get him downstairs,' he said softly, 'It's warmer down there.'

Yasopp nodded, and together they slowly picked Luffy up and carried him down the ladder, trying their hardest not to wake him.

Downstairs it was indeed warmer, and Shanks kicked himself for not having brought him down before. Once again he wondered why the boy had been out so late, but he wasn't going to wake the boy up to extract the answers from him; after all, it wasn't really any of his business. They set him down near the lamp, hoping the glow would not wake him and Shanks took off his coat and lay it over the boy as a makeshift duvet.

'He's brave.' Shanks said quietly and his shipmate nodded, 'But I think I was a little hard on him back there. You heard, right…?'

Yasopp nodded, 'Yes, you may have been, but I didn't expect him to last so long under your powers. Even some of the crewmates don't last that long.

'Yes,' Shanks said, 'He's stubborn, that may prove to be useful to him one day.'

'Cap'n, are you suggesting…?'

'Of course not,' Shanks looked over the boy, 'I would never do that. But you never know, one day he may become something great. For a boy only 7 to last that long under my haki…' Shanks closed his eyes, 'Let's get some rest. We may have a long day tomorrow.'

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><p><strong>Once again, tell me what you think, next chapter shouldn't be too long, I don't think.<strong>


	9. The Return of the Runaway Boy

**Phew. This one is out a _lot _earlier than expected. That is proof of having too much time on your hands though, I'm afraid. Nah, the real reason is because my computer's screen completely broke recently and so I've had more time to write and get some ideas straightened out without the distraction of games like MapleStory or YouTube or FaceBook... or reading other FanFiction. So all I had to do was type it up, really!  
>I'm vaguly happy with how this one turned out. Hope you enjoy!<strong>

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><p>When Luffy awoke the next day it was already early afternoon. He had been gently woken by Yasopp under the orders of his captain. He blinked in the light from the lantern and scrunched up his eyes as he sat up, rubbing them lazily with the back of his hand. He felt soft material fall down his chest and opened his eyes again to stare at the cloak resting upon him. Was this the captain's? He looked round and sure enough spotted Shanks across from him, fiddling with a map in his hand, trying his best to read it but to no triumph, his cloak for once, not resting around his shoulders. The captain glanced at Luffy, noticing him being awake, and smiled at the boy, 'Good afternoon' he said kindly, and presently went up the ladder that sat in the middle of underground cave.<p>

Luffy did not answer the man, still a little wary of him, and instead turned his attention on where he was. He knew he must have gone through the hole in the floor although he did not remember ever leaving the upstairs part of the cave. There was a lot more space here with enough room for a full-grown man to stand upright and the room was bigger. An old wooden table sat in one corner, an equally looking beaten up chair tucked under it. The walls made the place seem like an almost dome shape, the corners soft to make the room nearly circular. He looked down at the floor, only now noticing the wooden floor board that had been rather badly put in place. And looking up, his attention turned to a large hole in one wall and curiosity struck him; he got up to have a closer look at it, carefully pushing the cloak to one side, and upon approaching it, he figured that it was some kind of cubby hole.

Still, 'What's this?' Luffy asked Yasopp who grinned in return.

'It's a safe,' he said, 'Or at least, it will be. We'll put all our treasure in here so no one can get to it, but first we need a latch.'

'Treasure?' Luffy asked, awe-struck and suddenly more interested than before, 'You have treasure? Where?' He asked, glancing around the room as if a golden chest would magically appear.

Yasopp laughed at the naivety of the boy, 'Not here; it's on our ship.'

'Then where's your ship?' Luffy pressed, 'I thought you only had a rowboat.'

Yasopp laughed again, 'Hiding.' he smiled, 'We don't want anyone to find it just yet.'

Luffy stared up at him, confused, what did he mean by that? He opened his mouth to ask but instead felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked at Yasopp curiously and saw that his expression had turned serious.

'Luffy. About last night, don't think badly of the captain.' Luffy lowered his gaze, 'He didn't want to be mean like that… he was just worried and figured that was the only way he could get you to understand.'

Luffy blinked at the man, 'Understand?' he repeated.

Yasopp sighed and turned Luffy's body round to face him full on, 'Yes. You should know it's not safe to be running around in the woods at night. And Cap'n wanted you to understand that, so he… well…' he drifted off as if not keen to give the boy a full explanation, 'Just try not to think too badly of him, okay?'

Luffy stared at him, not fully understanding but still answered the man, 'It's not like I was in the forest on purpose… I was trying to get back home.' Suddenly Luffy's expression changed and his eyes widened incredibly, 'That's right!' he gasped, 'Grandpa Garp's gonna kill me!'

Yasopp's eyebrows knitted together, 'Grandpa Garp?' he asked, but he did not get to ask any further as his captain called for him. 'What?' Yasopp cried up to his superior who was still on the floor above, a little annoyed that he had been interrupted.

'What's taking so long? I thought we were going to a nice place to eat?'

'Eat?' Luffy asked, his attention instantly torn away from all thoughts of his grandfather.

Shanks' head appeared in the hole as he looked down at them on hands and knees, 'Of course.' He replied, 'Aren't you guys hungry? I'm starving! I haven't eaten for a whole day!'

'That's your fault for not bringing any food back yesterday!' Yasopp retaliated, although his remark was ignored.

'Luffy,' Shanks called a little warily, not entirely sure whether the boy would want to answer him, 'Do you know any good places to eat?'

But with the thought of his faviourite bar in mind, Luffy had already forgotten and forgiven Shanks about what had happened the previous night, 'Partys Bar!' he beamed.

'Bar?' Shanks asked, intrigued but moreso relieved that the boy was speaking to him, 'What kind of food do they have there?' he asked, smiling.

'All kinds!' Luffy smiled back, the thought of food and the bar having distracted the worry of his grandfather's anger and from his fear of Shanks alike, 'Tarts and cakes and quiches and meat!'

Shanks, apparently excited by this idea, tried to spring to his feet, having forgotten that the cave upstairs' roof was too low for him to stand. He rubbed his head a little shamefully and laughed at his own misfortune, 'Well c'mon then. Show us the way; let's go!'

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><p>Walking through the trees at a steady pace, Yasopp and Shanks were amazed by the boy's sense of direction. The air was warm and not a cloud was visible in the sky, it seemed as if the storm the night before had never happened, but instead the island had just become cooler and more refreshing. All three of the travelers were grateful for this, especially Luffy who, just before exiting the mouth of the cave, had felt a sudden twinge of worry at the thought of the storm still going, and had been pleasantly surprised to find a genuinely nice looking day awaiting him instead.<p>

'How do you know for sure this is the right way?' Yasopp asked for the umpteenth time.

'I told you,' Luffy, who was leading the little party, said a little tiredly, 'I know everything about this forest.'

'You say that…' Yasopp started, eyebrows narrowed, 'But then how did you get lost last night, if that's the case?'

Luffy hesitated before replying, 'Everything looks different at night. I couldn't see where I was going because it was too dark.'

'It's true, Yasopp. These woods look totally different in the dark.' Shanks agreed, turning his upwards to glance at the foliage, 'Because of the big overhang and the amount of trees, more shadows are formed compared to most forests. I'm not surprised he was scared.' he added as an afterthought.

'I wasn't scared!' Luffy shouted over his shoulder and both men chuckled.

'You keep telling yourself that.'

'Shut up!'

'You could be a great navigator one day.' Shanks mused, once again in awe of the boy's good sense.

'No way,' Luffy argued, 'I don't wanna be something like _that_. That's _boring_!'

Shanks chuckled once more, 'Oh really? Then what _do _you want to be?'

Here Luffy turned to face his followers, his face bright and his smile wide and his hands formed tight fists of anticipation as he declared, 'I'm gonna be a pirate!'

Needless to say, both men were surprised by the sheer determination in the young boy's voice, let alone by his choice of career. For a moment, neither man said nothing, studying the boy's face in curiosity, wondering whether this was all a joke. And realising the boy was serious, a flicker of amusement passed through both men's faces until Shanks finally broke down into a full fit of laughter.

'What's so funny?' Luffy demanded, instantly deciding in his own mind that the two were marines after all.

'You could never be a pirate! You're nowhere near fierce or strong enough!' Shanks replied, still laughing.

'What? I am!' the young boy protested, 'My punch is as strong as a pistol!' he boasted.

'You definitely proved that to us back at the dock.' Yasopp put in, starting to chuckle himself.

Luffy's face reddened as embarrassment surged through his veins and all of a sudden he sat down on the wet earth, deciding to ignore the uncomfortableness of the bumps in the earth caused by the mud in the rain. Both men looked at him curiously until Yasopp asked just what exactly he was doing.

'I'm not moving.' Luffy said.

'What do you mean, "not moving"?' Shanks questioned, interested by the boy's strange behaviour.

'I'm not moving and you're not getting out of this forest.' Luffy said, a mischievous smile now present on his face, and seeing both men deflate with these words and looks of slight worry passed between the two, Luffy started speaking again, 'Unless…' he trailed off.

'Unless what?' Shanks asked a little apprehensively, but a note of amusement ran deep in his voice.

'Unless you call me Captain Luffy from now on.' Luffy decided, an almost cruel smile danced across his features.

'No chance.' Shanks said imediately and instead of succumbing to Luffy's ways, he and his shipmate walked straight past him, causing the boy to glare back at them in annoyance.

'Hey, where are you going?' the boy demanded.

'To your village.' Yasopp replied but neither turned around to face him.

'You don't know the way though!' Luffy shouted, getting back on his feet.

'It's too bad you're not coming with us though, Luffy.' Shanks sighed regrettably, 'It looks like we won't be paying for your food after all.' He offered a little wave, still not facing Luffy but the smile on his face could be heard through his voice, 'See ya another time, maybe.'

Luffy's eyes widened and he knew he'd lost, and running towards the men, he tugged at Shanks' cloak, 'No, idiot, you're going the wrong way! We're meant to turn here! Come on!'

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><p>When the village was finally in sight, Luffy's pace quickened, eager to get to Partys Bar and order whatever kind of meat he wanted from off the menu. A private smile crept on his features as the thought of ordering <em>everything <em>came to mind. Perhaps he would do just that, he decided, especially now that Shanks and Yasopp would be paying for him.

'Just so you know,' Shanks said casually from behind, as if having read his thoughts, 'I'm not buying you everything on the menu. You can have one thing, that's it.'

'What? But that's not fair!' Luffy whined, annoyed that his plan had been foiled so easily.

As they entered the village, Luffy, who had been trying to wheedle his way into getting two things off the menu, heard a nearby shout and before he realized what was happening, found himself being suddenly grabbed by someone and clutched to another's chest. Looking up, he saw Gyoru had a firm grip of him.

'Luffy!' he shouted, 'Where did you go? Everyone was so worried!' the fishmonger exclaimed, drawing the boy into a tight hug which Luffy squirmed to try and get out of. 'I'm so sorry Luffy, I'll never ever do anything like that again, please forgive me, I-' He stopped, mid speech and slowly looked the two startled strangers up and down, only just noticing them and his eyebrows narrowed dangerously, 'Who are these people, Luffy? What did they do to you?'

'Gyoru, let go of me!' Luffy shouted back in reply, 'You're crushing me!'

And Gyoru loosened his grip so Luffy could break free from him, although he stepped in front of him now, blocking his way back to the newcomers, glaring at the hostily.

'Who are you?' he demanded, 'What do you want with Luffy?'

'We,' Shanks started, his composure once again perfect and his voice stable, 'Are visitors.'

'Is that so?' Gyoru muttered, although it was fairly obvious that he was intimidated by the two of them, 'What are your names?'

'I have not answered your second question yet.' Shanks spoke confidently, not entirely sure why the fishmonger was being so hostile and rude towards them, 'We were with Luffy just now so that he could pinpoint a place where we might purchase some delicious food. Now for your third question, my name is Shanks and this is Yasopp.' He indicated his subordinate.

'Don't act smart with me,' Gyoru growled but before he could say anything further, Luffy interrupted him.

'Gyoru, stop! Shanks and Yasopp aren't bad people.'

Gyoru turned his attention on Luffy now and stared at him, astonished. 'Luffy, you don't know that! I've never seen these people before, they could be the pirates! You can't trust people you don't know, Luffy; you should know that by now!'

'They aren't pirates!' Luffy retaliated, starting to feel annoyed, 'And I thought that the person I couldn't trust was _you_!'

Gyoru was instantly taken aback by the boy's harsh words, hurt clearly visible in his eyes, 'Luffy…'

Yasopp and Shanks exchanged worried glances as they saw a crowd of people had slowly started to form. One girl detached herself from the huddle and jumped into the circle as she rushed towards Luffy. She had he hair tied back with a neckerchief and wore an apron, and as she got closer to the boy, tears started spilling from her eyes.

'Luffy!' she let out, finally reaching the boy and clasping him tightly to herself, getting on her knees, 'Where did you go? Don't you know how worried I've been? Are you hurt? Oh… you're clothes are torn at the edges… and how did you get all these bruises?' she demanded, wanting to know all the answers all at once, her eyes moving up and down Luffy's body, checking for injuries and making sure he was okay and, noticing a smudge of mud on his cheek, she wet her thumb and roughly rubbed over it, much to the boy's dislike, 'Did you go into the woods last night? I've told you never to go off like that!' And before waiting for a reply, her eyes fell on the pirates. 'You two,' she started, 'You took care of him, didn't you?' her voice had turned soft.

Sheepishly, Yasopp and Shanks confirmed her theory with a quick nod of their heads.

'And you took care of him?' she pressed.

Once again they nodded.

Makino gently let go of the boy now and bowed her head, 'Thank you so much!'

Shanks laughed nervously as he studied the girl and said, 'No, it was nothing…'

'No, Makino! Don't bow your head to this… to this _outlaw_!' Gyoru cried and he ran to her and yanked her up, forcing her to stand.

'Outlaw?' Makino questioned, taken by surprise at the rough movement.

'I just know he's a pirate! Both of them!' he growled again, eyes furious as they grazed over both men.

Meanwhile the crowd of onlookers studied the scene in anticipation and curiosity. Living in a small village, news traveled fast and they of course had heard about the boy's disappearance. But excahnged looks of worry passed through the crowd, each person with their own theory about what had happened, and it seemed very few of them thought that these "visitors" were good news. Anything unknown meant trouble, and trouble was the least thing they wanted at that moment after a storm that had caused some of their cattle to run away.

'Gyoru, you have no proof! How could you possibly know that?' the young woman accused the fishmonger, who was about to reply when he was interrupted as a voice sounded over both of theirs, chilling most of the onlookers to the core.

'We are pirates.'

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><p><strong>*GASP* Did he just say what I think he said? Indeed he did.<br>Please review! I know it sounds silly - I always thought it was before I started writing - but they really do inspire you to write more.**


	10. The Dispute

**I am **_**so**_** sorry this chapter is late! I could give you a thousand excuses but I'm sure you'd rather just get on and read the chapter so I'll keep it short and sweet: I was ill for a few days so couldn't really write with a high temperate :).  
>(By the way, I invented the Curtley Twins - first name that came to mind.)<br>****NOW. ENJOY.**

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><p>'We are pirates.'<p>

As every head snapped round to face the tall red-head who had spoken, mouths dropped, people bristled, hairs stood on end, and gradually some of the more cowardly of citizens started to back away. But no one spoke; they didn't know what to say, let alone what to think. And as the silence prolonged, the more uneasy the air became, and more the uneasiness settled in, the more the fear spread through the crowd. It was Luffy who spoke first.

'Pirates?' he questioned, his eyes wide as he stared up at the straw-hat, as if not fully understanding, 'You're pirates?'

Shanks looked down at the boy, his expression indifferent, stray shadows covered parts of his face by cause of his hat. He hesitated, then, 'Yes.'

Still no one moved, what were they to do? Somewhere in the crowd a young girl started crying, and the sounds of a desperate mother trying to soothe her frightened daughter drifted through the air. Havoc struck. People ran in all directions, knocking each other out of their way as they hurried. But for what? Shelter? Their homes? No one knew. The only thought they had was to get away from the dangerous man, and fast. And soon there were only six people left out in the open and now almost completely deserted square; Shanks, Yasopp, Luffy, Makino, Gyoru and the mayor, a safe distance back, behind a nearby tree.

Still Luffy stared up at his seniors and as the pirates studied his expression, they began to wonder whether he would run too. But suddenly a gleam lit in the boy's eyes, his face grew bright as he smiled broadly, 'Wow!' he cried, 'Really? You're _pirates_? So cool!' He lifted his hand in order to tug on Shanks' cloak, eager to ask a thousand questions at once but stopped in his tracks as he was interrupted by Gyoru.

'No, Luffy! Don't get too close to him! You'll get hurt!' he yelled, but he stood rooted to the spot, too afraid of his own well-being to move.

Luffy's head snapped round, 'What? No I won't. His expression was puzzled and he stared at the fishmonger, 'Why would Shanks hurt me?'

Suddenly the mayor burst out from behind his tree, surprising only the common people as the pirates had long before noticed him already, and he rushed over to join the small huddle. He gripped Luffy's arm and pulled him towards himself and he stared fearfully into the eyes of the pirates.

'I don't know what you want with our island or what you may want with the boy,' he spoke quickly, his words tumbling out in a flurry of panic as he took only small pauses for breath, 'But please, I beg of you; don't harm Luffy! Did you bring him back for a ransom? We'll pay whatever you want, just please don't hurt him!'

Shanks stared at the man curiously and Yasopp sighed, 'We don't want to hurt him,' Shanks started, 'I would never dream of it. No, we only wanted to help him.'

The mayor blinked, not understanding, but then his brow furrowed, 'You won't fool me like that!' He spat, 'I know your kind! Always pillaging, always killing, always… stealing!'

'That's not what being a pirate is!' Luffy shouted, breaking free of the mayor's rough grasp on his arm and facing him, his back turned to the pirates, 'It can't be; I know it!'

'Luffy, you know nothing _about _pirates!' the mayor tried to reason, although he kept his gaze on the man with the dark cloak.

'That's not true!' Luffy rose his voice, fists clenched, 'All those stories you told me… all those stories Makino told me… they're not about pillaging _or _killing; they're about teamwork.'

Here, both pirates raised their eyebrows, not having expected anything like that coming from a boy so small, so seemingly unintelligent, and they started to wonder whether they really knew the boy at all.

'They're about friendship,' the boy continued, 'and _nakama_.'

'_Friendship_?' Gyoru protested, not believing a word of what he was hearing, 'How could you call something so horrible as killing people be an act of friendship? Of kindness? It's barbaric!'

'No,' Luffy countered and he turned his gaze on Makino, who had not moved since the announcement of the two men being pirates and had been staring at them, petrified and rooted to the spot ever since, 'The ones who only kill and steal aren't real pirates; they're cowards. But what about pirates like The Curtley Twins you told me about, Makino?'

At the mention of her name, her head turned slowly downwards to face Luffy, but her eyes stayed glued to the pirates for a moment longer, and as the boy spoke again, they flickered upwards every now and them, wary of what they could suddenly do.

'One of them sacrificed himself to save the other, didn't he?' Luffy pressed.

Makino hesitated before answering, 'Those are stories, Luffy. Fairy tales, most likely. No one knows whether they're true.' She said slowly, shaking her head.

'I believe them!' Luffy's eyebrows narrowed.

This time Gyoru answered, 'Luffy, there are many stories like these! None of them are true; don't believe them for a second.'

'You can't tell me what to believe,' Luffy shouted at his friend, 'You say I don't know anything about pirates, but I've met two of them! Shanks and Yasopp aren't mean or nasty. They're not cruel! They… they helped me.'

'Helped you?' the mayor piped up, his voice scornful, 'How did they help you? I don't think poisoning your mind with thoughts of pirates being _respectful _and _kind _is anything to thank them for.'

'In the forest last night,' Luffy hesitated, 'It was dark and I-' he broke off, not really wanting the other villagers to know about his moment of cowardice as he saw it as weakness himself. Behind him, Shanks chuckled.

He rested a hand on Luffy's shoulder and at the contact, the boy's head swirled round to look at him, 'What's so funny?' he asked flatly, annoyed that the man he was defending was openly laughing at his effort.

Shanks chuckled again, 'It's okay, Luffy,' he said kindly, 'I understand these people very well. Because unfortunately, even if _you _can accept us for what we are, that does not mean everyone else will.' His hand left the boy's shoulder and he turned his gaze on his shipmate, 'Yasopp,' he started, 'It seems we are not welcome here.' He smiled sadly, 'It seems that you were right, I should have anticipated this. Let's leave before we cause any more trouble.'

His shipmate nodded in agreement, no hint of gloating for being right reached his expression as for once he wished he had been wrong.

'What? You're leaving already?' Luffy's eyes were sad and he gazed up at the two pirates almost longingly.

'Yes, Luffy. We must.' Yasopp answered regretfully.

'But why?' Luffy questioned, his voice quivered with sadness and fresh, unshed tears shone in his eyes.

Shanks smiled and he crouched down to get a better view of the boy he'd only met the day before, 'Because we are unwelcome here.' He explained, 'We cannot stay in a place that does not accept us, but feel free to use our hideout, I'll leave it to you; it's yours. Take good care of it. In truth, we only found it yesterday anyway, so it might need some tidying up.'

'But I don't want you to go yet.' Luffy pleaded with him, bringing his hand to meet his eyes, not wanting the man to see his weakness again.

'Hey now, don't cry,' Shanks soothed the boy, and bringing his hand up, he gently brushed his tears away with his thumb, 'You can't very well be a pirate if you let your emotions always take the better of you, can you now? Be a brave boy for me, eh?'

Luffy nodded, promising he would and he sniffed loudly.

Shanks stood back up, smile still intact and displayed across his features, 'We leave at midnight.' He announced, looking over the villagers one last time, and slowly, he turned away, Yasopp following. But as soon as Shanks turned, his smile dropped and vanished instantly, replaced by a firm frown. And Yasopp, noticing this, said nothing, and instead carried on walking next to his captain, neither of them ever turning round the face the small huddle.

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><p>Luffy stared into the darkness of his room, dry tears as well as a new bruise staining his face and he grimaced. He was at his grandfather's house and he ached all over from being punished for being away from home for so long. He pulled his arm up to his face, trying to make out the blue-green mark that he knew would have appeared but could not see anything in the black of night.<p>

He turned over in his bed but squinted as he leant on his side and swiftly changed back to lying on his back. Sitting up, he sighed heavily. Even though he had only known Shanks and Yasopp for a day and a half, he already felt a strong attachment to them, and watching them simply walk away like that… and thinking about how the villagers had come out of their hiding places shortly after the two pirates' departure and how they had cheered at their "triumph" over the pirates had only made the whole thing worse. His grandfather had not been very impressed with him either when he found out all he had been up to, the constant ache in his side petulantly reminding him of his punishment. His eyebrows narrowed as he thought over all that had happened, all that he hated about the villagers and suddenly, he made a decision.

He had to follow them.

Something flickered in the young boy's eyes and he jumped from his bed and ran to his door, not even considering provisions he might need as he ran down the rickety stairs, through the kitchen and out the door. He did not even try to be quiet, knowing full well that when his grandfather was asleep even the loudest of explosions could not wake him up.

'_Where will they be?'_ He thought to himself, '_It'll be midnight soon… but will they still be at the hideout or already be at the southern coast?' _He quickly decided that it would be better to go to where he had first met them, at the abandoned dock near the southern coast, and he ran with legs on fire to his destination.

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><p>'Almost ready to move out?' Shanks asked Yasopp, who was studying a map of the island. He had drawn a trail to the hideout on it and had been tracing it with his finger, making sure he knew exactly where to go to get to the southern coast. They were still in the hideout and were just preparing to leave.<p>

'Yes.' He answered, then, 'Are you sure you want to do this? We may never find a hideout as good as this and-'

'You saw the villagers, Yasopp,' his captain interrupted him, 'We can't stay here. We didn't get to introduce ourselves properly and so my plan failed. We'll have to try elsewhere. As for the cave,' he continued, glancing around the dug-out they were standing in fondly, 'We can always pinch the idea and use it elsewhere.'

'That will take time.'

'Yes.' Shanks agreed, 'But it will not be for nothing.'

Yasopp nodded and continued to study his map, but as his captain started to turn away he could not hold it in any longer, 'And what about Luffy?' he wanted to know, curiosity finally taking over him.

His captain hesitated before turning back to his crewmate, 'What about him?'

'Don't try to fool me, cap'n, I've seen the way you act around the boy… it's like how you are with the crew, you've taken a liking to him; you already count him as a friend.'

Shanks hesitated, fixing his gaze on the dusty floor, 'That may be so,' he said slowly, 'But there's nothing I can do now. I only hope he won't get into too much trouble for trying to stand up for us.'

Yasopp nodded but could not bring himself to smile at his captain to try and reassure him. Instead, he rolled up the piece of parchment and strapped it to his belt, 'I suppose we won't be needing this now.' He mumbled.

'At least keep it till we're on the boat.' Shanks said in return, lifting his head and smiling at his subordinate, 'Now let's go before the villagers come with torches.'

Yasopp could not help but snort at this, and he followed his captain up the ladder and out the cave and into the night, wondering when his captain ever became so good at masking his sadness.

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><p><strong>I'll try to make sure the next one is out earlier this time! :)<strong>


	11. The Ocean's Weight

**Yeaaahh.. I'm late again... sorry 'bout that ^^;  
>For anyone who <em>does not know <em>a "settee" is an English (or British) word for a "sofa" :P  
>Luffy finally asks to join Shanks' crew~ What will happen? (dun dun duuunnnn...)<br>Hope you'll enjoy this chapter!  
>edit: I <span>KEEP ON FORGETTING <span>to fill in gaps! Sorry for _another _re-upload ^^;**

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><p>Surging through the trees, Luffy hurried the fastest he could to the southern coast. He knew it must have been very close to midnight by now and he didn't want to miss his only chance at joining the ranks of the pirate's crew. Brushing all fears and doubts out of his mind, he ran faster, sprinting the last stretch, ignoring the slight pains from the bruises that covered his arms as he came out into the open and arrived at the dock, panting for breath and turning round in circles, trying to spot the two men in the dark.<p>

_"No… they can't be gone…"_ he thought to himself, bringing one hand up to his face as he scratched his cheek in worry.

Turning on himself again, he finally spotted it a little way off; the battered old rowboat he had first spotted them in. He ran towards the end of the wooden platform where the boats used to dock and he squinted in the darkness to make out the two figures in the boat.

Panic surged through his stomach and he took in a deep breath, 'Hey!' he called into the night, 'Don't go!'

Both men turned round in the boat at the sudden noise, eyes wide and anxious as they immediately recognised the voice.

'Luffy?' Yasopp stated, 'What are you doing here? We told you it's not safe out in the woods at night!'

'I don't care!' Luffy shouted back desperately, 'Just don't go yet! I need to talk to you!'

The two men looked at each other, both confused and surprised by his sudden appearance.

'Luffy, what's wrong?' Shanks shouted back, concern running deep in his voice.

'I want you…' Luffy started, unsure of how to ask them and he breathed in deeply, starting again, 'I want you to take me with you!' he called.

A silence passed through the night air; neither man knew what to do let alone what to say. Luffy stared back at them, worried and anxious as he waited for their response. His knees were slightly bent, his breathing rushed and his cheeks flushed from all the running he had done.

Shanks inhaled softly and stood up in the boat, and, putting a smile on his face he called back to the fidgety boy, 'Someone like you could never be a pirate!'

Yasopp's head snapped back to look at his captain, shock clearly visible on his face. Luffy blinked, surprised by Shanks' words. Although the red-head had said them playfully, his tone light and smile in place, Luffy heard them harsh and brutal; an insult to him and his pride. But he would not give up, 'What do you mean "someone like me"?' he wanted to know.

Shanks laughed heartily and, raising his voice a little, he jeered, 'You're ten years too young to be a pirate. Besides, you're too soft!'

Luffy, eyes now wet, gaped at Shanks. Then, taken by a surge of anger, he screamed back at him, '_Soft_? I'd be the toughest pirate you'd ever see!'

Shanks laughed once more and challenged him, certain that he'd trapped the naïve yet confident boy, 'You wanna come here and say that?'

Luffy hesitated. His eyes narrowed as he seemed to consider it; Shanks' gaze faltered for a heartbeat, _"He wouldn't…?"_

'Captain,' Yasopp hissed, 'What are you doing?' But Shanks ignored his shipmate, his vision not leaving the boy, worried now as he wondered what the boy would do. Yasopp tugged at his sleeve, 'Cap'n!' Yassop said louder, 'Don't provoke him, that's not how you should deal with this kind of situation! I understand what you're trying to do but… just let _me_ talk to him! I have a kid and so I-'

Shanks rounded on his subordinate, eyes narrowed as he turned to him, and he was about to utter a clever remark when his hair stood on end as he heard a splash.

His head snapped back to the dock. Luffy was no longer standing there, but instead ripples had started to form in the water, brushing the side of the boat gently as it licked up the side of the rickety old thing. Shanks gripped the edge of the boat, his fingers clamping the side, a bead of sweat started to form on his forehead under his hat.

'Luffy!' Yasopp shouted, he knew the waters would be deathly cold at this time of night and he was frightened for his safety. Shanks remained silent as his eyes grazed over the scene before him.

The boy's head came in to view and he bobbed momentarily on the surface of the water. Next to him, Shanks heard Yasopp let out a sigh of relief, 'That worried me for a second,' he breathed, sitting back down in his seat on the boat, 'I thought he couldn't swim for a moment there.' But his face grew pale as he saw the boy suddenly start to struggle, barely a metre from the dock and splashing furiously, attempting to swim.

Tingles and chills ran through Luffy's body as his skin felt the weighted touch of the surges of the freezing ocean, he found it hard to move, his body restrained and slow in the dark depths, although the current was not too fast.

He felt his vision start to blur as he gulped in water, desperately trying to make his way over to the rowboat, wanting to prove his worth, and he gasped as he felt a pressure in his chest. He faintly heard another splash a way off, but it sounded distant and oddly quiet. His energy drained and he stopped moving, stopped trying, ans seemed to be giving up the fight completely; his head went under.

But soon he felt a new kind of pressure on him, rough but careful at the same time, he felt himself being lifted out of the water steadily and he shivered as he remade contact with the chilly air. He coughed up water, finally ridding himself of the choking liquid as he tried to breathe. His arms tightened around himself and he closed his eyes, concentrating only on inhaling as much air as he could.

'Is he alright?' he heard Yasopp ask dully but he got no reply. He vaguely wondered what was going on as his back was rested on something hard, the wood of the dock. 'Come over here, Yasopp.' he heard Shanks cry to his subordinate and his eyelashes flickered.

He heard the splashing of waves and he recognised the sound of a rowboat drifting, and soon he was brought up and resting on something much softer. He felt something heavy around him and, opening his eyes a crack, he saw that he had been covered with a black coat. He gazed up at the man holding him, equally as wet and dripping with water, a red head, no longer wearing his hat and kneeling on the dock, who looked down at him gravely. Luffy shifted slighlty on the man's thighs.

Luffy opened his eyes more and he shivered, not with cold this time, but at the expression on the man's face. It was the same expression he had worn before in the cave when he had helped him during the storm, a look Luffy had hoped he would never see again. He cowered slightly, knowing that he was presently unable to escape from the man's imposing glare, but suddenly the man's face changed. His narrowed eyes now filled with compassion, he held the soaking boy close to his chest, his frown replaced by a small smile and he closed his eyes, hugging the boy's head fondly.

'How foolish of you…' he mumbled, 'Now our leave will be delayed until I can make sure you're all better.' He stood up, gazing down at the boy he still clutched in his arms, guilty, 'I'm sorry,' he said, 'Let's get you back to the village.'

'No, I wanna come with you.' Luffy whined softly, he felt tired and he slurred slightly, but Shanks hushed the boy gently.

'We'll talk about that later.' He said. 'For now, rest.'

Luffy coughed lightly, his chest still hurt and he was freezing, but other than that, he felt more or less fine, but tired.

Turning round to face his friend, Shanks was about to ask something of Yasopp when he friend threw Shanks' hat to him Frisbee style; he had left it on the ship. Shanks caught it, swiftly tucking Luffy into the creak of one arm, and placed it back on his head. And after nodding his thanks, Shanks quickly ordered Yasopp to bring the boat onto the surface and then to follow, and, after Yasopp's gentle agreement, Shanks turned on his heel and began to walk swiftly in the direction of the village.

'It's okay,' Luffy said weakly, 'I can walk.'

Shanks could not help but chuckle, 'I don't care if you can walk or not. I'm carrying you, and that's an order.'

Luffy stared at him wide eyed and presently accepted the man's decision, deciding thoughtfully that it was probably for the best anyway. Suddenly he wondered, 'What are we going to do back in the village?'

'You can show me the way to your parents' house so you can warm yourself up.' Shanks answered softly, jogging slightly as the idea came to mind.

'I live with my grandfather.'

Shanks' forehead wrinkled at the new information, 'Oh,' he could only think to say, 'I'll bring you there then.'

He felt the boy's body stiffen and he gazed down into the frightened expression that had appeared on the boys' face, 'No... not to Grandpa Garp,' he said, 'Couldn't we just go to Makino?'

'The barmaid from earlier?'

Luffy nodded in response, 'I don't want Grandpa to know I snuck out.' He eyelashes fluttered as sleep started to invade him and he shut his eyes.

It was only now that Shanks noticed the small scratch on the boys' face, and he realised that it had not been there before. _'How did you get that?' After a moment, _he shook his head and, pushing all bad thoughts from mind, he pushed on through the foliage; he would let Luffy sleep for now but would wake him once he arrived at the village.

* * *

><p>'Luffy… wake up…'<p>

Luffy's eyes opened dully as he was stirred gently from his sleep, and opening his eyes fully, he realised that he couldn't see much. He rubbed at them sleepily and as his arms reached the air, he shivered and wrapped himself tightly in Shanks' coat.

'Where are we?' he asked, his voice slightly croaky from sleep.

'We're at the entrance to your village,' he heard Yasopp whisper somewhere to his left, 'But we don't know how to get to Makino's house. Can you show us the way?'

Luffy nodded without realising the others couldn't see and said 'It's right near Partys Bar.'

'Where's that, Luffy?' Shanks asked softly.

'Next to Harleton's Bakery.'

'And where's that?'

Luffy lifted his head a little and gazed out into the darkness; he could barely see anything but he knew the village like the back of his hand. He'd be able to find Makino's house easily, 'Over there.' He pointed to the left side of the long village street, 'It's five or six houses along from here, I think.' And he sunk back into his carriers' chest sleepily.

Shanks nodded, a motion only seen by Yasopp as they had grown used to the dark by now, having jogged through the thickets of the trees and bushes for the past half hour.

The two pirates walked to the left side of the street steadily, making sure not to trip over the few stones that lay here and there abundantly. They squinted, heads lifted, into the darkness to try and make out the words on the buildings they passed.

'Yasopp, do you have your matches with you?'

'Of course, cap'n.' His friend answered, and without hesitation, he withdrew a packet from his back pocket.

He swiftly lit one of the matches, the glow lighting up a sign on a shop.

'Harleton's Bakery.' Shanks read aloud, 'We're two away from it yet.' He said.

And soon they came across a small house. It was old and needed a few patches here and there, but it was obvious that it was a girl's house. It had been painted a soft cream colour and the wooden beams that held the house together seemed a little old and in need of repair. A flower pot stood outside the door, inside, a sunflower bloomed in the middle of a ring of daisies and daffodils; flowers for the poor, inexpensive little joys, but still sweet, a burst of colour in the seemingly dull village that stood out from afar.

Approaching the door and walking up the first few steps on the landing, Yasopp knocked the small brass knocker on the door, and squinting, bringing his matchstick to his face, he saw that a small heart had been engraved in it.

At first there was no answer, the only sound coming from the pirates' slow breathing or from Luffy's still form sleeping soundly and heavily. Yasopp knocked again. And this time, the sound of dreary footsteps could be heard from within.

Makino opened the door. She was in a light pink nightgown, reaching down below her knees. To cover her bare arms, she wore on top a light blue fleece, which she had presumably just put on to answer the door and her hair was down, tumbling in soft weaves around her young face. She seemed tired from her sleep being disturbed so late into the night, something natural that the pirates had expected.

'Can I help you?' she asked softly, her usual good manners taking hold of her before her eyes, they realised, as the next moment she realised just who she was talking to. She noticed Luffy in Shanks' arms, limp and eyes closed and her fears took over. She raised her hands towards her face and opened her mouth to scream but Yasopp beat her to it, covering her mouth gruffly with his hand and forcing her back inside. Shanks followed slowly, a little unnerved.

Shanks closed the door behind them gently with his foot and looked around the small house. Makino had brought a lamp with her which stood on a dresser next to the door, illuminating about three quarters of the first room, a living room. A deep red rug with tassels lay under an old coffee table that rested in the middle of the room. Around it there was a cream settee under a window and a chair of the same colour. Each seemed as old as the coffee table and beaten. Noticing the settee, Shanks walked silently over, bending down so he could let Luffy rest there, and, after tucking him in with his coat, he turned round to face the others.

Yasopp still had Makino's mouth in place and was trying to console her, 'It's okay, don't be afraid, we won't hurt you.' He was saying to her reassuringly, his voice low as he spoke in almost a whisper, 'We only want to-' he was abruptly cut off as Makino stamped on his foot heavily, resulting in Yasopp loosing his grip on the struggling barmaid who then took the opportunity to bite deep into his hand.

Yasopp let out a yelp of agony and he rounded on the girl, anger present in his eyes as he brought a hand up to his chest defensively. Shanks caught his hand and his shipmate turned round, 'Don't fight back.' Shanks said softly at him, worry clearly visible in his eyes, he did not want to scare the girl more. Yasopp nodded to his captain and threw an apologetic glance at Makino, who by now was cowering in a corner of her house and sinking slowly to the floor, her gaze never leaving the boy on her settee.

Shanks approached her, 'It's okay,' he spoke softly and he smiled, 'There's nothing to be afraid of.' He reached a hand out that Makino immediately brushed away, hitting it as hard as she could, her eyes cold. Shanks' gaze faltered and he knelt down next to her, 'Luffy is safe.' He said, 'He tried to follow us, and now we're bringing him home.'

Makino stared at the red-head, at first unbelieving, until her gaze focused on Luffy once more, and from where she lay, she recognised the steady breathing of the boy and saw the soft rising and falling of his chest. Her gaze softened. Shanks reached out his hand again, and slowly, hesitantly, Makino took it.

They raised to their feet but Shanks did not let go, but instead brought her over to the boy and rested her hand on his chest and held it there, 'You see,' Shanks said, 'He's fine.'

Makino smiled as she understood the situation, but her eyes hardened as she noticed the bruise on Luffy's face. Drawing back Shanks' coat, she bristled at what she saw. Cuts and bruises covered the boy's arms, varying shades of colours displayed up and down his skin.

She felt Shanks shift next to her, and turned to see his eyes wide in shock, and she knew he had not done this to him.

From behind he heard another gasp, coming this time from Yasopp, 'What happened to him?' he whispered.

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><p><strong>Tune in next time for more Their First Encounter~ *fireworks* *crowd goes wild* *planes fly overhead and spell the name "Akiry" in the sky* ... Yeah, I wish.<br>Hope you enjoyed, tell me what you think!**


	12. The Courses of Action

**Okay, this one is actually late for a _reason _:P Cut the story short, I was on holiday in Venice and I couldn't bring my computer with me. xD  
>Hope you like this~ I've reacted to some problems that one of my reviewers pointed out; I hope this clears some issues up (to do with Garp, etc...)<strong>

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><p>'What happened to him?'<p>

'His grandfather.' Was Makino's only reply as she stood up and walked briskly out of the room.

Both pirates stared at each other in confusion and disbelief, neither really understanding what she had meant. But suddenly Shanks remembered the terrified look on the boy's face when Shanks had mentioned taking him back to his grandfather's house. _'He seemed so scared… But surely, someone's _grandfather _wouldn't do such a thing… would they?'_

It was at the time where Shanks was thinking this when Makino came back into the living room, a little suitcase in hand with a red X drawn on it with a thick pen. She knelt down and set the box down on the coffee table and clicked it open; a sad sigh was let out as she rummaged through plasters of all shapes and sizes and creams and scissors, reading the labels on several packets before she finally came across the one she was looking for.

She opened the lid and squirted a small amount of the creamy mixture into her palm. Then, still on her knees, she turned to Luffy. 'He hates this cream,' she said almost amicably to the pirates, 'He hates anything cold.'

And sure enough, as Makino started rubbing the first bruise, Luffy awoke, hot and bothered about what was going on. The pirates contented themselves by watching the scene quietly, each to their own private thoughts as Luffy whined tiredly, although he did not have the strength to push her away. Instead, Makino diverted his attention by scolding him.

'Luffy, what have I told you about getting into trouble with your grandfather? You know it's always like this…'

'But Makino, I couldn't help it this time! You _know _I got lost in that storm. It wasn't _my _fault!' the boy pouted indignantly.

'Oh? Then whose fault was it? The storm's?' She asked teasingly.

'Yes.' Luffy replied confidently, making the barmaid laugh a little as she carried on with her work.

Luffy allowed himself to be dabbed and prodded and have cream rubbed into his skin, but only because it was Makino. He would never let anyone else do it, because he knew better than to make Makino angry. Because when Makino got angry, she pleaded, and sometimes she would even cry. He hated to see her like that, whether it was because work was too difficult, or when her own grandfather had died - something Luffy had not understood at first - and therefore knew it was probably better not to cross her.

When she was done, she bent over Luffy, who flinched at the contact, and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. She left the room, a sad smile on her features with small box in hand to put it back. But when she came back, her expression had changed. It seemed determined, perhaps even brave, and she walked straight up to Shanks despite the fear visible in her and asked him directly, 'Why was Luffy wet when he came here?'

'Ah…' Shanks started, not having expected a direct question from the fearful young girl, especially not so soon, 'Well…' and he began to explain all that had happened, Luffy following them through the night and falling in the sea, how he had helped the boy to safety and brought him to Makino's house, under Luffy's request. 'Just who is his grandfather? Did he really beat this kid up?' he looked down at the resting boy who had fallen back asleep as soon as Makino had finished tending to him, tired from all the commotion and all worn out.

'I'm sure you've heard of him,' Makino turned her gaze on Luffy, 'Monkey D. Garp.'

Yasopp bristled, 'What's _he _doing on this island? I've not heard any rumours of him retiring!'

'He's not retired…' the young girl started, 'He's just spending a bit of time off to look after Luffy. His parents aren't here anymore, you see… he still goes off sometimes, marine jobs, I don't know any of the details.' She clutched her hands together and looked down, not entirely sure how to continue with her explanation.

The tense silence was broken by a chuckle coming from Shanks, which soon developed in to a full burst of laughter. Yasopp and Makino stared at him, surprised, 'I don't see what's very funny about all this…' Yasopp started, 'We might have a Vice Admiral after us!'

'I knew there was something about him,' Shanks said, ignoring Yasopp's fears and putting them to side, 'Something I couldn't quite put my finger on… but I never expected him to be related to _Garp_! So Luffy's full name would be Monkey Luffy?'

'Monkey D. Luffy.' Makino corrected, 'He shares the same middle name as Garp.'

The pirates studied Makino and the boy fondly, 'The Will of D…' Shanks murmured.

'What?' Makino asked, not having completely understood what he had said.

But Shanks shook his head, 'No, it's nothing.' He mused, although a new kind of smile grew on his face, a secretive smile that showed private knowing.

'But this still doesn't solve the problem we have, cap'n! A _Vice Admiral _could attack us at _any _moment!' Yasopp sounded, tearing that smile from Shanks' face.

Shanks looked at his subordinate with a dull look on his face, 'But surely…' Shanks started thoughtfully, 'If he knew we were here, he would already have tried to kill us. Shouldn't he already be after us? But we've not seen him...' he trailed off.

'You can thank Luffy for that.' Makino said a little harshly.

'Luffy? He can change Garp's mind?' Yasopp gasped.

'No.' Makino sighed, a little ashamed of her sternness that had seeped into her voice before, 'After you two left it took a while for the villagers to come back - they were scared. And when they did finally come back, they brought Garp with them. But Luffy… he must have known Garp would want to go after you because he asked me and the mayor,' she faltered, looking away slightly, 'He asked us to lie to him. We told him you'd already left on your ship and that he would never catch up with you.'

'But that wouldn't normally stop someone like Garp…' Shanks stated, crossing his arms, 'In all the stories I've heard of him, he stops at nothing when he so much as hears the word "pirates"…'

'But the village,' Makino supplied, 'They didn't want him to go. They pleaded with him; they were frightened, I told you. They thought it would be best for him to stay in the village, in case you should come back. But that still didn't seem to stop him… so Luffy challenged him.' She cast a glance over to the boy, 'He insulted him and that sort of drew Garp's attention away from you. I think he knew what would happen… he was already going to be punished for not coming back the night before, but to insult and embarass him in front of the whole village…' she trailed off.

'I see.' Shanks said, lowering his hat slightly to cover his eyes, 'He's brave, I'll give him that. But also reckless.'

'Luffy was taken home by Garp,' Makino contunued, 'But he snuck out. He came over here, to my house. He thanked me for lying to Garp and told me everything that happened between you.' She bowed her head, 'But I scarcely believed him. I am forever in your debt for helping him not once, but twice. I thought it would be him again at the door earlier on, so when I saw you I panicked.' Her voice broke as she reached the end of her story and he shivered.

'Hey now… it's okay.' Yasopp grinned at her.

Makino looked up at them with tears in her eyes, 'I'm very sorry,' she said simply, 'I thought you would be… well like all the other pirates that I've heard about from Garp.'

Shanks lifted his head, revealing kindness in his eyes, 'There's no problem.' he said, and he put a hand on her shoulder. He looked deep into her eyes and saw that she no longer feared them, but he saw something else… something like awe maybe, and a slight hint of anger. '_Towards Garp?' _he wondered.

Makino brought her arm up to her face and sniffed. Then, turning away again, she knelt on the floor besides Luffy, 'He needs to go home,' she said, 'If his grandfather suspects anything, he'll be punished again.'

'Alright.' Shanks agreed immediately, 'Where's his home?'

Makino blinked in surprise, 'I can't ask you to do anything more for us. And we can't risk you being seen, for Luffy's sake…'

'It's okay, we're used to being sneaky,' Yasopp cut in, 'It's our job!'

Shanks smiled at his subordinate's good humour, satisfied that he seemed to have stopped worrying about Garp being after them, 'I'm sure we can manage putting just one little boy back to bed.'

But Makino shook her head, 'No, I'd better do it. Even though Luffy's grandfather is known for being quite a heavy sleeper-'

'Then it's fine!' Yasopp interrupted.

'-I still think,' Makino continued, 'That it would be better if I did it.' She looked apologetic, 'I don't think Luffy should get caught with you. At least if I'm found with him, I can tell him that Luffy came to see me because he was…' she looked around as if clues for a believable excuse would be lying and waiting in the small room. Finally, she put an idea forth, 'Because he was feeling guilty and wanted my help to think of a way to apologise to him.' She said quickly and cast her eyes downwards.

Shanks' eyes narrowed, suspicious of her reaction to her own words, 'Would Garp accept that to be true?'

'Probably not…' she admitted, 'but it's the best we've got.'

Shanks nodded solemnly, 'Well, all we have to do is to hope for the best. Do you need our help bringing him over?'

'No, I'll be fine by my own.' She stood up and bent over Luffy as if to pick him up but shortly paused and turned back round to face her visitors, 'Are you planning on staying on this island any longer?'

'If you mean "When are you leaving?" then we're not sure.' Shanks folded his arms, 'We were, as you know, planning on leaving tonight,' his eyes fell on Luffy, 'Until this one thought he'd come and join us.' He paused, 'I told Luffy we wouldn't be able to leave until he was fully rested and better; he may have caught a cold from being in the sea at night.'

Makino nodded, 'In that case, you'll need a place to stay for the night. You can make yourselves comfortable here while I'm gone.'

'Are you sure about that?' Yasopp questioned, 'You'd be putting yourself at a great risk.'

'It's fine.' She said, and nodded once more as if to confirm it to herself.

'Then we thank you.' Shanks bowed his head slightly to acknowledge her generosity.

Makino nodded once more and then she turned to Luffy and pulled Shanks' coat off him. She went over to her coat stand and got down a coat for herself which she hastily put on, then, in a cupboard in the corner of the room, she took out a soft blanket which he wrapped round the boy, and gently lifted the boy up in her arms; he did not shift and seemed to be in a deep slumber. Yasopp and Shanks watched her silently, and seeing the worried look on the sniper's face, Makino smiled at him, 'He's light, I'll manage.' And she made her way over to the door which Shanks opened and shut behind her, only taking a moment to smile thankfully at her.

'Well, she's brave, that's one thing.' Yasopp said partly to himself as he sat down on the settee that Luffy had been curled up on.

'Yes,' Shanks agreed, 'Brave indeed.' He looked towards the floor and down at his feet, a frown clearly visible on his face.

Yasopp, seeing his captain's sudden change of mood, spoke up, 'Something the matter, cap'n?'

His captain looked at his shipmate carefully, as if assessing the situation, or perhaps wondering whether to tell his crewmate or not. Then, 'You could say that. I feel like we've forgotten something, or maybe we've just not done something important altogether.'

Yasopp's brows knitted, 'Something we've forgotten?' He thought for a while, studying the ceiling as his captain surveyed his shipmate, 'I can't of anything.' Yasopp sounded a little bluntly, pushing has gaze back to his captain, who nodded in return.

A silence passed where neither pirate said anything, neither knowing what to do or say, the unsteady and uneasy silence growing every second. Suddenly, Shanks spoke, 'What did you do with the boat?'

Yasopp seemed surprised by his captain's sudden question, 'The rowboat?' he inquired, 'Well… I put it on the shore, just as you said.'

'On shore?'

Yasopp looked at Shanks hesitantly, trying to figure out where all this was going, 'Yeah. On shore, right next to the dock.'

'Ah.'

'What is it?' Yasopp asked, a prick of fear starting to flow through him as he wondered what on earth could be the problem.

'I don't think you should have put it there…' Shanks stopped and put a hand over his mouth, wondering what to do next.

'Why not?' his friend pressed.

'What if someone finds it?'

Something clicked and Yasopp understood, 'Ah.'

'You understand now?' his captain looked at him.

'I do.'

'We should do something about that.'

'Yes, I think we should.' Yasopp nodded.

'I'll go.' Shanks started, and he was just about to open the door when he was interrupted.

'No, it's alright, I will. After all, it's my fault I didn't put it away properly. I should have hidden it somewhere.'

'No, Yasopp, I should have told you what to do. As captain, it is my responsibility. You stay here and…' he looked around the small room, seeking an activity that might calm and occupy his sniper, 'Put your feet up by the fire.'

Yasopp raised his brows slightly, not having expected such a laid back activity to be given to him, 'What if I accompany you?' He suggested.

'No.' Shanks said a little more sternly now, 'It's getting light. By the time I'm back it'll be time for the villagers to start waking up, we can't risk the two of us being seen. You stay here.' And he opened the door and rushed out into the cold air, only now realising how light it had suddenly become. '_How did daybreak come so quickly? Were we really explaining the situation to Makino for that long?'_

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><p><strong>Tell me what you think guys :)<br>It may have ended a little abruptly but I think it's alright... :3**


	13. The Disappearance

**I know I'm late! I had started typing up this chapter when my computer suddenly decided, "No, I'm not going to work anymore. I'm going to sleep, so TTFN." and died on me for a week or so. After that I got writer's block. And then I couldn't decide how to continue. Because of where I left off, there were _so _many I could have continued: I wanted the next chapter to be exciting (I hope it is...). Ideas just kept coming and then I couldn't decide which ideas to choose D:  
>So, with no more excuses, I thank ye for ye patience.<strong>

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><p>As Makino hurried up the hill to Luffy's house, she looked down at the boy in her arms. His hair was dry now, but a bruise on his face from the day before was still visible. A surge of anger passed through her as she made her way to the top, the house only a few feet away now.<p>

And then she stopped. Because there was something she hadn't thought of – the key to the house; she didn't it! Her heart raced. How could she get inside without his grandfather hearing her if she didn't have a key? She couldn't exactly ring the doorbell, and although Garp was notoriously known for being a heavy sleeper, it would be far too risky to break a window and clamber through - not to mention how guilty she would feel afterwards.

Tentatively, she crept closer to the door and shifted Luffy in her arms so he could rest in the crook of her elbow, balancing him with one arm. Then, slowly, she reached her free hand out and turned the knob.

It opened.

A flood of relief went through her and for once, she was happy that Luffy had been careless. She couldn't help but grin as she pushed open the door, but her smile quickly vanished as she carefully stepped inside, balancing all her weight on her toes as she tried make the least amount of noise possible.

She passed the doorway to the living room, but as she walked past, she froze. She peered inside the room. A beam of moonlight was coming through the window, illuminating the room and keeping the darkness out, the curtains not having been drawn. Her eyes drifted to Garp, lying fast asleep on the settee, a stink of liquor came off of him. Makino wrinkled her nose but she relaxed a little. He seemed to be completely out of it.

Turning away from the lounge, she let out a sigh of relief and headed for the stairs. She paused at the bottom, a little unsure of how to tackle such a huge feat. Because, after all, this was an old house, and the stairs would surely creak. She lifted a quivering foot before bringing it down again on the first step. A painful creak was let out. She pushed her weight onto the foot and brought up the second; being careful so as not to drop the boy who was lightly snoring in her arms. She made her way up the stairs slowly, carefully, and occasionally stopped moving altogether as Luffy's grandfather gave the occasional grunt.

Eventually, she reached the top and in the darkness and once again she passed Luffy into the crook of her elbow. Slowly, she fumbled her way through the dark. She vaguely remembered the way to Luffy's room as she had been in the house before, but this didn't seem to make it much easier for her to find the young boy's room.

Luffy's door was closed, and, just like in the living room, his curtains had not yet been drawn, and as Makino stumbled in she squinted slightly at the light. She breathed another sigh of relief as she realised she wouldn't have to light a candle to get Luffy into bed.

Luffy's room was your run-of-the-mill young boy's room. Messy and untidy, a few books lay strewn on the ground as well as the odd toy and play thing. Makino raised an eyebrow as she saw a jumper had been abandoned in the middle of the floor in a heap.

She made her way over to the bed and lay Luffy on the sheets and then brought the covers up around his neck. She smiled as she gently brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. But then, something caught her eye - she had spotted a drawing.

She cocked her head slightly as she looked over the illustration and she turned it over in her hands. The picture was of three figures, two tall and one short, and all were wearing stereotypical pirate clothing. The short figure had an eye-patch. Makino squinted in the darkness to make out some words – "Yasopp, Shanks and me" it read in bold, untidy letters. Her eyes softened as she gazed down at the young boy who was snoozing peacefully, 'You really do like them, don't you Luffy?'

The boy smiled as if he had heard her, and little did she know that he was dreaming about them. They were on a ship, somewhere far away in the great ocean, and having an adventure with the rest of their mighty crew of fearsome kings of the sea.

Makino put the drawing back on his bedside table, but turned it face down – she knew that if Garp saw it he would not exactly approve. And turning towards the door, she threw one last look back at Luffy, her smile still in place, 'Sweet dreams' she whispered, as she headed out the room.

Hurriedly, but still as quiet as she could manage, she tiptoed back downstairs and out the front door. She closed it softly and leant her back against it, craning her neck up to briefly gaze into the sky. _'Morning soon,'_ she thought, _'I should head back home and get all the rest I can.'_

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><p>Meanwhile, Shanks had managed to retrace his footsteps back to the dock, but as he stepped out of the bushes he immediately knew something was off. He gazed around the shore but all he could see was sand and sea-shells, an odd plant sticking out of the ground here and there and a crab scurrying along the sand, pincers snapping. He turned his head the other way. Nothing.<p>

The rowboat was gone.

A sharp feeling ran through him as he continued his search; he knew he would not find anything but he couldn't help it. After all, they needed that rowboat to get back to their own ship! After a good half hour of useless searching, he finally gave up and gave into the fact that it was most likely gone for good. _'But where?' _he thought as he hurried back through the undergrowth and onwards to the village. If he was to meet Yasopp back at Makino's house before daybreak, he'd have to be fast.

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><p>Yasopp paced up and down the small living room, senses aware, mouth clamped shut, teeth grinding. He wrung his hands together, then spread them apart, only to wring them round each other again once more. He sat on the settee, his feet tapped the ground agitatedly and he made both hands into tight fists. How long had he been waiting? Makino had arrived home over an hour ago and had gone straight to bed, but Shanks was later than he had expected.<p>

Just then, there was a tentative knock on the door. Yasopp sprang up from the settee and hurried over to the door, almost tripping over the carpet as he went.

'It's me, Yasopp,' Shanks' loud whisper came from outside, 'Let me in.'

Yasopp flung the door open wide and Shanks stepped inside. He closed the door behind him and stared at his shipmate, 'You said the boat was on the shore!' he practically shouted.

'Shhh!' Yasopp hissed back, 'Makino's asleep! And what do you mean? I told you it's on the shore because that's where I left it. What's wrong?' Yasopp narrowed his eyes as Shanks seemed to deflate at his words.

'I searched everywhere, but the closest thing I found to a rowboat was an old plank of wood that had been washed up on shore.' Shanks replied, keeping his voice low, 'It's nowhere to be seen.'

'What? It's gone?' Yasopp cried, momentarily forgetting the dozing young woman stairs. Shanks whacked him round the head. 'What was that for?' Yasopp demanded, rubbing the spot tentatively.

'You'll wake Makino,' Shanks replied sharply, 'The poor girl's done a lot for us. Let her sleep.'

Yasopp pouted at this answer before he straightened himself and said, 'Well what do we do? We can't get back to the ship without the rowboat.'

'I know.' Shanks said as he sat himself down in a squashy armchair. He had not even taken his coat or hat off yet. 'But that's not the worst issue. I'm sure someone on this island has a rowboat lying around somewhere, and if not you can easily make one.'

'I'm a gunslinger, not a carpenter.' Yasopp cut his captain.

Shanks ignored his crewmate's remark, 'The problem is, _who _took it?' He stared at the floor, feeling completely and utterly lost as to what to do.

After a brief moment, Yasopp spoke up, 'It must have been Garp.' he decided as he leant against the unlit fireplace and crossed his arms.

Shanks looked up at him, 'Why do you say that?' he questioned his friend.

Yasopp turned a blank look on him, 'Well it's got to be him! Hasn't it? Who else would steal our boat?'

'The entire village knows we're hiding around here somewhere, soon the whole island will know.' He paused as a sudden thought came to him, 'Was Makino seen?'

'I asked her that; she said she was sure she wasn't. Apparently Garp lay snoring on the settee the whole time she was there.'

Shanks nodded, 'Then it can't have been Garp. Luffy left the house whilst his grandfather was still at home, and Makino just saw him. If Garp had hidden the ship he would probably be out looking for us right now. And the possibility of him being in the woods without us seeing him if he was looking for us is… well not very high.'

'But it's possible.' Yasopp reminded his captain.

'But not probable.'

Yasopp sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, 'Then who else could it be? I don't think any humble island villager is stupid enough to steal from a couple of _pirates_. Our names aren't unknown in these parts.'

Shanks nodded thoughtfully. He rested his elbows on his knees and his face in one hand, 'Who would have the guts…?' he wondered when suddenly a thought struck him, he clicked his fingers, 'The Mayor!'

'The Mayor?'

'Of course! Who else would take the rowboat? He was the only villager besides the fishùonger who stood up to us. He _must _be the person who's taken it.'

Yasopp nodded, 'Of course,' he murmured, 'So shall we go get him?'

Shanks gazed out the window, 'No. It's too late now. We'll have to wait till night time. After all, we don't want to give the villagers another fright; I don't think they'd be able to stop Garp from going after us a second time, and Luffy's trick isn't going to work on him twice. It'll be better if he thinks we're off the island – if our rowboat is gone, then he won't know we're here.'

'Unless if the Mayor tells.'

'True…' the captain trailed off.

'Maybe I can help,' spoke a new voice. The two pirates inclined their heads. It was Makino. 'What? I'm sure I could get the Mayor to come here. He doesn't know you're here, I could tell him I need his opinion on something, or... well, something of the sort.'

Shanks rose from his chair, 'You would do that for us?' he asked the young girl hopefully.

'I know how much Luffy looks up to you. And although he's not the brightest of children, I know that what he said about you is true.' She smiled, 'You're the "greatest pirates I've ever met".'

Shanks chuckled, 'He said that? But he's never even met any other pirates before, has he?'

Makino shrugged, 'He knows you have good hearts so I am willing to help.'

'You'd be putting yourself in danger again.' Yasopp reminded her.

'I know,' she said, and she studied the concerned looks on the pirates faces. She had made her mind up and she now she had, she wouldn't back down. She would help these pirates as much as she could, and she added, her face hard, 'But I also know that you also need me.'

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><p><strong>ONWARDS, TO THE NEXT CHAPTER. - now I know exactly what will happen next, the next chapter won't take <em>nearly<em> as long to come out.**


	14. The Lure

**A bit later than expected but hopefully worth the wait.  
>Tell me what you think!<strong>

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><p>As Makino walked steadily up the path past the various shops that were just opening for the day, she wrung her hands together. <em>'Keep a straight face,' <em>she told herself, _'or else he won't believe you;'_ As she reached Mayor Woop Slap's door, she took a deep breath, put on a straight face, and knocked. She knew she was fretting for nothing; she and her visitors had been up in the early hours figuring everything out. Yasopp had said that their plan was flawless. Nothing would go wrong, she knew that. But did she?

Presently, the Mayor's secretary opened the door. She gazed down at the visitor, 'Yes?'

'Clarissa! Good morning.' Makino said pleasantly. She smiled up at the secretary whose mouth did not so much as twitch at the kind greeting. 'I wanted to talk to the mayor.'

'I know.' Clarissa said, and she poked her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

Makino blinked, 'Right… is he in?'

'Of course.'

A silence passed where neither said anything. Makino raised her brows slightly, 'Can I see him?' she asked.

'No.' Clarissa said, and she slammed the door shut.

To say that Makino was surprised would have been an understatement. And she was about to knock again when she heard a commotion from inside.

'Open the door for her!' someone was saying, and Makino recognised the sound of the mayor's voice. She pressed her ear to the door to hear better, but the door was flung open almost immediately as it touched the wood. The mayor stood in front of her, seemingly apologetic, with his secretary standing behind him, the same bored expression plastered to her face.

'I am _so _sorry,' the mayor began, 'please forgive Clarissa. She can be a bit… well,' he turned his gaze on her quickly before looking back at Makino, 'you know…'

'It's fine, Mayor,' Makino smiled, 'I understand.' Although they both knew full well that she didn't, and probably never would. Clarissa had never taken much of a liking to the pretty, young barmaid.

'Did you need something?' the mayor asked.

'Hm? Oh yes! I needed to ask you something important.'

'Important?' the mayor repeated, clearly concerned. He knew that if Makino was asking for help or advice, then it was probably something quite bad; the naturally independent girl _never _asked for help unless it was _very _important, 'Would you like to come in?' he offered.

'No, I think it would be better if I just show you.' Makino replied.

'Show me?' the mayor wondered as he stepped outside the house, leaving Clarissa to shut the door behind him with a sharp thud. He raised his brows slightly at the gruff reaction of his secretary, but, deciding it was best to ignore it, he pressed on, 'What's wrong?'

'It's my house – I think it's got termites.'

'Termites? Shouldn't you be asking someone else about this sort of thing? I don't have much experience in anything like that…' he trailed off as they started walk up to Makino's house.

'Well, I'm not entirely sure it's termites. Let's just say termites and other insects aren't exactly my forte… Besides, I don't want it to spread… If I need to make an announcement, you're the one to do it.'

The mayor only nodded at Makino's explanation, believing her in a second, no questions asked as to whether she was telling the truth or not, although he still didn't quite understand why she needed his help or what good he could do. Makino felt a twinge of guilt tug at her, her good instinct telling her to tell to confess, that pirates were waiting for him, that she was luring him into a trap, but no, she couldn't just abandon Shanks and Yasopp like that. They needed her.

They arrived at her house quickly and Makino unlocked the door. She let the mayor enter first and then locked the door behind them.

'Why are you locking the door?' he asked, a rising suspicion suddenly growing in him.

Makino thought quickly as she tried to act natural, 'Just a precaution,' she smiled, 'Don't want those termites getting out and into the other homes, do we?'

Mayor Woop Slap raised an eyebrow, 'And… a lock will stop them? You know that termites bite through wood, don't you?'

Makino didn't answer, but instead ushered him to follow her through the living room and into the kitchen. It was a modest kitchen, and a rather typical one for an island of that size and calibre. A simple wood burning stove sat in one corner next to a counter. A fridge stood on its own in another, and in the middle was a small and square dining room table. A couple of chairs were tucked neatly under it. She drew out one of the chairs and asked whether the mayor would like to sit. He politely took the chair although he had no idea what any of this had to do with termites. Makino sat in the chair across from him.

'Okay,' she started slowly, 'I have to be honest. There are no termites.' She waited for her words to sink in and for the mayor's expression to turn from confused to completely and utterly lost.

'Then what is it you want?' he asked.

'There was some truth in what I said though,' the barmaid carried on, decing it was best to ignore his question for now, 'I think it's better if I show you first…' she glanced round at the door behind her that she knew led to her bedroom and who was waiting behind it.

The door opened slowly and a rusty creak sounded as the hinges groaned, and Shanks, followed by Yasopp, came out slowly, their arms raised, their weapons nowhere to be seen, 'It's alright,' Shanks said to the mayor, who had risen out of his chair and was now standing behind it, clutching it as if for protection, 'We're not going to hurt you. We just want to talk. Please, sit back down.'

The mayor hesitated a moment, but then did as he was told. He looked from one to the other and then said, 'What is it you want from me?' His gaze fell on Makino, 'And what have you done to corrupt Makino?'

'We haven't corrupted her; we just-' Yasopp started, but he was quickly cut off.

'I've known Makino since she was a baby; she would never lie to me!' the mayor stated; some force had returned to his voice and he sat with one hand in the other. A slight air of confidence came off of him.

Shanks smiled sadly at the mayor's way of thinking, 'We're sorry, but we needed to speak to you.'

'I don't see why,' the mayor said honestly, 'I have nothing to say to you pirates.' He spat the word "pirates" like it was some sort of godforsaken disease or a fatal illness, but neither pirate was in the slightest bit offended by the old man, too used to this kind of behaviour around them.

'Hey now,' Shanks laughed, 'Isn't that a bit prejudiced of you? Look, we've left our weapons in the next room. We just need to ask you something.'

'What?' the mayor demanded the redhead.

Shanks' good humour instantly fell and his smile was replaced by a frown. He narrowed his eyes, and let his straw-hat create shadows over his face, 'Where's our rowboat?' he asked quietly.

The mayor blinked, 'What?' he noised, 'Your rowboat?'

Yasopp spoke this time, he placed one hand on the table and leant across it so his face was closer to the old man's, 'Yes, our rowboat, don't play dumb. We were going to set off yesterday, just like we promised but _someone _took our boat. Now you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?' And for once, Shanks did not stop his crewmate from intimidating the poor mayor.

'And you think it was me?' the mayor guffawed, 'Why would I steal your boat? I _wanted _you to clear off. What motive would I have?'

'We know it was you.' Yasopp pressed.

'I have no reason to!' The mayor insisted.

Shanks breathed out slowly, taking his time. He raised his head, 'If you just tell us where the boat is, we'll let you go safe and sound back to your home and we'll be on our way back to our ship as soon as you can say "Farewell".'

'I would never say "farewell" to some pitiful pirate!' the mayor spat.

Shanks did not react to the insult, but Yasopp did, 'Pitiful?' he demanded, 'What do you mean "pitiful"?'

'I mean exactly what I said. Now let me go; I have an island to run.'

Yasopp was just about to come up with a good come-back when Makino spoke up, 'Stop it,' she stood, 'We are getting no-where at this rate.' She turned to the mayor, 'Mayor Woop Slap, I beg of you, please give them their boat back and I promise you, they will be gone before you know it.'

'That's all very well;' the mayor retorted, 'But I can't very well give them what I don't have!'

Shanks studied the mayor silently, letting the fuming figure of the mayor fill his eyes. He breathed out a short sigh and slumped down in the chair Makino had been sitting in, the mayor visibly flinched at the sudden movement, 'You're telling the truth.' He said quietly, and took his hat off. He held it in his hand and stared at it thoughtfully.

'What? Just like that?' Yasopp asked incredulously, 'You're gonna take the old man's word just like that?'

'Yep.' His captain smiled slightly, 'We were wrong, Yasopp. This man does not have our boat.'

'Damn right I don't!' the mayor fumed, although he could not help but feel just a bit grateful for the captain's choice to believe him.

'Then who has it?' Makino asked, 'Do you know?'

'How on earth would I know? I may be the mayor but I don't know everything. Now, I would appreciate it if you let me go.'

'You won't tell Garp, will you?' Makino spoke.

'What?' the mayor was surprised by her request.

'Please don't tell him,' she rushed over to the mayor, and tugged on his arm slightly, 'I trust these people; they're not like ordinary pirates! They're good people, please believe me.'

The mayor studied her for a moment and then the pirates. He knew Makino was an intelligent woman but this was just too hard to believe, 'Why should I?' he demanded. Although his voice was calm now, all trace of anger had left him, but it was only to be replaced by sadness, 'They managed to corrupt such an intelligent woman such as yourself.'

'No, Mayor Woop Slap, you've got it all wrong,' she insisted, making him sit back down in the chair she'd left him, 'Yesterday I thought just the same as you but something happened last night that made me change my mind about them for good.' And she began to retell the details of the night before. Throughout the story, he listened intently, making sure not to miss anything, his eyes growing in size as he absorbed all the new information. At the end of Makino's story he turned to the pirates.

'Is this all true? You saved Luffy?' he asked in a whisper.

Shanks smiled at him, 'If you're asking, then you're considering the truth. And that means you must already believe Makino.'

Mayor Woop Slap stumbled over his words at first, because he knew that what the captain was saying was true. In the end, he simply gave a sigh, rose out of his seat, and headed for the door.

'Where are you going?' Yasopp asked, suspicious.

The mayor turned back to look at the gangly blonde, 'To find your rowboat.' The mayor replied.

* * *

><p>Luffy gave a yawn and he stretched. Garp had just been calling him from downstairs and he knew that if he didn't get a move on, he risked getting another punishment. He gazed around his bedroom, young eyes bleary at the lack of sleep. Come to think of it, how had he gotten in his bedroom in the first place? He couldn't remember coming back home last night. He quickly decided he'd ask Makino or the pirates next time he saw them and grudingly shrugged the covers off of him. He stumbled sleepily out of his bedroom, avoiding the odd pieces of paper and rubbish that littered his floor before going down the stairs, wincing every now and then at a strained pain in the arm or of the leg, of a cut or of a bruise.<p>

'What took you so long?' his grandfather snapped as Luffy appeared in the kitchen doorway. Luffy didn't answer but instead took his seat at the table opposite him, 'I need to talk to you,' Garp continued importantly. He was already fully dressed and in his marine uniform. Luffy did not notice the tone of voice. Garp narrowed his brows, 'Are you listening?'

'Yeah.' Luffy replied, although that was only half true.

'Don't say "yeah", say "yes".'

'Yes.' Luffy responded, knowing full well that it was better to comply to what his grandfather wanted in this situation.

'I'm leaving on a trip soon,' his grandfather carried on; 'I've been called on urgent business. You know what that means right? You're gonna have to look after yourself for a while.'

Luffy smiled happily, 'Great! How long will you be away?'

Garp thwacked him round the head, 'Don't get so goddamn happy, you runt! I'll be away for a few weeks at most, a week at the least.'

Luffy cheered at the news and once again received a heavy blow to the head, 'Oww…' he said while nursing his head, 'I'm not a runt! And that hurt, Gramps!' he shouted at his grandfather.

'Then you shouldn't be so disrespectful.' Garp said as he rose from his chair and walked to the door. He was about to leave the house when he turned round and faced Luffy with a sly grin, 'Oh and there's something I think you should know. This "important business" that I'm going to – you'll never guess what it is.' He paused to let the words sink in, 'It would seem that some children stumbled upon a pirate ship. Do you know whose?'

Luffy looked up at his grandfather with big eyes. He shook his head and waited for Garp to answer.

'Red-haired Shanks' ship.' He laughed as he saw Luffy's mouth drop. 'I'll be leaving now.' And before Luffy could try and stop him, he walked out the door.

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><p><strong>And so, Chapter 14 is out!<br>Will Garp find the ship? Will Shanks and Yasopp get off the island? Will Mayor Woop Slap find the boat? Will we ever find out why Clarissa hates Makino so much? Will Gyoru be the new "Mr. March"? Will Luffy become a world famous pop star?  
>WHO KNOWS?<strong>

**Oh right, I do. :)**


	15. The Call

**Okay, I know it's been a long time. I don't really have any excuses to make up for it though...  
>Enjoy!<strong>

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><p>Shanks and Yasopp sat next to each other on the floor under the living room window, each talking softly to each other to pass the time. They spoke quietly, not so much because they were afraid of being heard, but because they knew what possible danger they were in. The more discreet they were, the safer they felt. Although Shanks was fairly certain he and Yasopp could take out just one Marine Admiral, he felt that he didn't want to risk it. They were still in Makino's house, but other than them, the house was completely empty.<p>

Suddenly, a loud knocking was heard at the door and each bristled and stiffened. They sat completely still, neither daring to breathe. Yasopp looked to his captain for orders but his captain only pressed a finger to his lips and whispered a soft "Shh".

'Open up!' came a loud voice from outside and they recognised it immediately.

A look of surprise passed over Shanks' face, but it was quickly removed by a frown. Tentatively, he got on his hands and knees and crawled to the door, not wanting to be seen out of the window by any passers-by. As he reached the door, he stretched a hand up and turned the key. _Click_. The door unlocked and he pushed it open slightly as Luffy bustled in.

'Shanks!' he stated, surprised to see the two pirates on the floor as he looked from one to the other.

The captain made a quick grab for Luffy, sliding a hand over the boy's mouth as he did so, and shut the door with a loud snap. 'Did anyone see you?' he demanded in a hushed whisper. Luffy shook his head. Both pirates found themselves letting out a sigh of relief and Shanks let the boy go.

'What are you both doing on the floor?' Luffy asked, clearly confused.

'We're hiding.' Shanks explained.

'But it's not like you'll be seen inside the house.' The boy reasoned.

Yasopp pointed upwards at the window above his head, 'That's not true. We can be seen through windows.'

Luffy thought for a moment, 'Then just draw the curtains.'

It was Shanks' turn to talk, 'It would be suspicious to have the windows drawn during the daytime, even if Makino's not home.'

'Oh…' Luffy noised in understanding. He smiled. But then suddenly he remembered what he'd come for, 'Shanks!' he burst, taking the captain by surprise by his sudden change of tone, 'I've gotta tell you something! It's important!'

Shanks raised a brow, 'Oh? What is it? Are you going to show me the picture you drew of us?'

'No!' Luffy blushed. How did he know about that? He decided to ignore it, but made a point to ask him later if he remembered, 'It's about your ship!'

'Our ship?' Yasopp chimed, 'Oh. You wanna know what it looks like?'

Luffy clenched his fists, 'Gramps knows what it looks like!'

The pirates stared at the boy, 'What?' the captain breathed.

'Gramps! He was called by someone to go find your ship.' Luffy urged on.

Shanks made a sudden move and gripped the boy's shoulders tightly, 'When did he leave, Luffy?'

The boy winced under the pirate's grip as he murmured, 'Just ten minutes ago or so…'

Shanks allowed his shoulders to relax a little, 'It's alright. I'll call Benn and tell him to move the ship.'

'Will that be enough?' Yasopp voiced, but Shanks did not reply. Instead, he rummaged through his clothes as if trying to find something. Sighing, Yasopp drew their small den den mushi out of his satchel and handed it to his captain, 'You gave it to me, remember?'

Once again, Shanks didn't reply, but instead nodded slightly and took it from his subordinate. He sat against the wall, his back slightly slumped, as he began dialling. He let his fringe fall in front of his eyes so neither could make out his expression.

The den den mushi rang twice, and then a voice picked it up and said, 'Captain?'

'Benn. You need to move the ship. Someone must have seen you; Vice Admiral Garp is on his way to find you right now.'

'Garp?' the voice sounded concerned but the surprise in the name was clear.

'Yes. I'll explain later, but right now you have to go! Keep low for a week or so, go to the Grand Line if you really have to, but try to dock at some other isolated or unknown island. And stay hidden!'

'Aye, sir.'

Shanks paused for a moment, 'Be careful.' He said quietly.

'Always.' Came the steady reply of his first mate.

Shanks put the receiver down and the snail went to sleep. He breathed a sigh of relief, 'We should be okay now.' He handed the den den mushi back to his gunner.

Yasopp gazed at his captain thoughtfully as he tucked the snail back in his satchel. The majority of the red-head's upper face was still covered in shadows but he could see the small frown that his captain was wearing. The gunner looked as though he wanted to say something but for whatever reason, he held his tongue.

Meanwhile Luffy was staring at the pair of them, each in turn, 'Did you just contact the ship? So cool! I heard another pirate talking! What's his name, what's his name? What does he do? Is he a cook? Or a gunner? A swordfighter? Maybe a navigator? Or a musician?'

Shanks smiled at the boy and he lifted his head, 'That was Benn. Benn Beckman, my first mate.'

'Eh? Yasopp's not your first mate?' he stared at Yasopp in disbelief.

Yasopp laughed, 'Nah. I'm just here to help out. I'm a sniper and Benn uses a rifle.'

Luffy nodded eagerly, 'So he must be strong if he's a first mate?'

'He's very strong. Not as strong as me though.' Shanks boasted.

Yasopp pushed his captain, making him stumble a bit on his knees. They both laughed and Luffy joined in. For a while, none of them said anything more, each lost in their own thoughts. No one mentioned what had happened the previous night, how Luffy had snuck out of the house to find Shanks and Yasopp, how he'd fallen in the sea; but it was on everyon's minds. Luffy shifted uneasily at the thought of the sold water, but then he suddenly remembered something different.

'How did I get home last night?' He asked, arms folded, head slightly tilted.

'Eh?' Yasopp answered intelligently, wrenched from his worries about the ship.

Shanks laughed at his shipmate, 'Makino carried you.' A mischievous grin came over his features, 'But Luffy, I thought you said you were big and strong? But not strong enough to stay up past bedtime, I see.'

'I _am _big and strong! I'm just waiting for my moment to show you, that's all.' The boy replied stubbornly, 'The hero always comes in at the last minute.'

'Yeah, yeah, kid. I'll believe that when I see it.' Shanks said, waving an arm as if to dismiss the matter.

Luffy stuck his tongue out at the captain, and the captain stuck his out back at the boy.

'I thought you were meant to be the mature one, captain?' Yasopp spoke.

'I am mature.' Shanks pouted.

Yasopp rolled his eyes, 'Right.'

'Where's Makino?' Luffy asked, suddenly having noticed that her presence was missed.

'Makino?' Shanks repeated, 'She's at work, of course. She may have pirates and a seven year old in her house, but she's still gotta earn money to put food on her plate.'

'Oh.' Luffy noised.

'Anyway, that's enough chitchat. Now we really need to get down to business.' Shanks turned towards his shipmate, 'We need to find out who has our rowboat, and fast so we can get back to the ship.' Yasopp only nodded as a reply. 'Who else can we suspect? If it wasn't the mayor then who could it have been?'

'Wait, what?' Luffy tugged on Shanks' coat to get his attention, 'I don't get it.'

'Course you don't, you were snoozing,' Yasopp answered for his captain, 'Last night, captain went back to hide our rowboat but when he arrived at the port it was gone. Luffy, do you know anything? We already questioned the mayor early this morning, before you were up, but we know it wasn't him.'

Luffy thought for a while, 'But who would take a rowboat? Maybe it was…' he trailed off, seemingly deep in thought. Presently, he shook his head, 'No, it can't have been.'

'Luffy?' Shanks asked, 'What is it? What do you know?'

'Nothing,' the boy mumbled and he made his way over to the door, 'I just have to check something real quick.'

'Where are you going?'

'Nowhere special.' Luffy answered, and he unlocked the door and stepped outside, closing the door carefully behind him.

The two pirates stared at each other, both confused and wary of the young boy's sudden actions and change of mood. 'What was that about?' Yasopp asked his captain, but all Shanks could do was shake his head as he had no idea.

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><p><strong>And so, that was chapter 15. A little short, I know. It was meant to be longer, but I've had to spilt it in two or it made up to 3,500 words.<br>Hope you liked it! Tell me what you think :)**


	16. The Confrontation

**Reuploaded within 10 minutes of ptting it up because I saw an error. It is solved now.**

**Okay, so I know it has been a _long_ time since I uploaded anything, but I _was_ wracking my brain out. I had no idea how I was going to finish this story, and, needless to say, I realised that I hadn't really thought my story through.  
>BUT NEVER FEAR.<br>Now I have a very clear idea of how I can complete this story, so that means more updates! (As soon as I've thought this one specific detail through) I don't know how many chapters will be left, but this is definitely near the end of my fic.**

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><p>Luffy ran at full pace, surprising the villagers as he sprinted past them, thrusting his way through the usual morning crowd outside the bakers' and other shops in the late morning sun. The air was light and it promised to be a warm, summery day. He did not stop to contemplate the weather however, as his only thought in mind was the kind fishmonger he thought he had once known.<p>

As he arrived near the fishmonger's, he saw Gyoru in his usual place, outside the shop with his little counter, a good selection of fish in front of him. He was calling out his usual cry of 'Fresh fish! Get your fresh fish here!' when he spotted the boy running towards him.

'What have you done with the boat?' Luffy panted as he met Gyoru.

Gyoru smiled down at the boy, 'Hello, Luffy. You here to buy some fish?'

'Don't screw with me!' he shouted at his friend.

The villagers around stared at Luffy in surprise. Gyoru blinked, momentarily caught off guard, but soon his usual smile came to his face again, 'Should a seven year old really talk like that, Luffy? You hang around grown-ups too much. Why don't you go play with some of the kids closer to your age?'

Luffy's eyes darkened as he glared up at the fishmonger. Gyoru would never normally say something like that; he knew how nasty the village kids could be about his ambitious dreams. Shortly and without another word, he turned on the spot and started heading south.

'Hey, where are you going? That's not the right way to any village kids I know. No one lives in that direction for miles.'

Luffy didn't so much as look at him, 'None of your business.' He said sourly as he shoved his clenched fists deep into his pockets, 'Idiot.'

Gyoru's eyes followed Luffy as he watched the boy disappear from sight. He sighed sadly as he let his mask fall, replacing his usual grin with a sad frown. He felt someone shake his arm and turned to see old Mrs. Grebber speaking to him. He had not even noticed her approach him, he was so lost in thought. He smiled down at her sweetly and apologised before serving her the fish she wanted.

Luffy skulked up the hill to the flagpole in the South, hands in pockets and kicking any stones he happened to pass. He remembered the last time he'd been happy with Gyoru. It had been near here, on their usual fallen tree. He did not feel like seeing that place again.

He stopped a moment and looked up at the sky, half expecting rain or grey clouds to suddenly fall and match his mood, but the sun was shining and the birds were twittering happily without a care in the world. Even if he was unhappy, that didn't mean the rest of the world was, he realised. Briefly, he decided he did not fancy going to the flagpole anymore; and instead headed back down the hill, deciding he would visit the dock where he'd first met his pirate friends.

He walked slowly along his route, sometimes pausing to see the wildlife passing him by, a bee, a squirrel, a rabbit hopping into his borough. He sighed as he passed all of this, the nature just didn't seem to have its usual charm that day and he walked on steadily down to the dock.

Upon arriving, he sat down on the small wooden ledge that was no more in use, he did not care that it was not the most comfortable of places; he just wanted to sit and think. He stared out into the ocean and could barely see a difference between sea and sky. He looked up to the clouds and squinted as the sun shone in his eyes.

How was he going to get Gyoru to confess? It was obvious the fishmonger had the rowboat; that was the only reason that could explain his strange behaviour. In any case, he was definitely hiding something. Luffy frowned at the thought of his friend betraying him and lying to him, 'I guess he wasn't the person I thought he was.' He mumbled sadly.

Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him; it was the shaking of trees or branches and as he turned his head round, he saw the very same fishmonger in question step out of the bushes a good 50 metres away from him, on shore. The fishmonger instantly spotted Luffy and started to make his way over to him. Luffy turned his head back to the ocean in disgust, not wanting to even look at him. Ignoring Luffy's cold action, Gyoru sat right down next to him and stared out into the ocean with him.

A silence passed where neither said anything, but finally Gyoru spoke up, 'You know I had my reasons for doing it, Luffy.' He spoke softly, calmly, but his voice rang with sadness.

'You lied to me.' Luffy stated solemnly.

'And that's why I'm here to apologise.' Gyoru smiled sadly at Luffy, but the boy kept his eyes on the lapping of waves in the distance. 'Luffy, I know you're angry, but you have to understand-'

'I don't have to understand anything!' Luffy shouted and he stood up. He started to walk away.

'Where are you going?' Gyoru jumped up after the boy.

'Somewhere you won't think to look for me.' The boy replied venomously.

'Oh come on, Luffy, I know you by heart. This was the first place I came to look for you; I can read you like a book.'

'If you can read me like a book, then you'll know the only way you can make up for this is to give Shanks and Yasopp their boat back.' He stopped in his tracks and turned to face Gyoru, his arms crossed across his chest.

Gyoru folded his own arms, 'If they're pirates they can come and get it themselves. If they're too cowardly to-'

Luffy cut him, anger rising in his voice, 'You know they can't come out during the daytime because people would see them! And at night, if they make too much noise, the villagers will go after them with pitchforks. You're using the rowboat for protection! You're the coward.'

Gyoru scoffed, 'Protection? This isn't about precaution, Luffy! If we let those pirates get away, who knows what they might do? They might ransack a village! I'm saving people this way.'

'You're not saving anyone; you've condemned an entire ship to death!'

Gyoru blinked, 'What do you mean "to death"?'

'Grandpa is out right now looking for their ship. Somebody spotted it.'

Gyoru stared at the boy. He blinked. Had he heard the boy correctly? He chuckled slightly at the news, 'Why is that my fault if their ship got spotted?' he asked Luffy.

'That's not your fault. But by hiding the boat, Shanks and Yasopp can't get back to their ship. They're a separated crew! What good is that?' Luffy fumed, 'I haven't met any of the crew besides them, but I'm sure about one thing,' Luffy took in a deep breath before continuing, 'When the mayor explained what pirates were, he told me that the captain makes the orders. He plans everything; the courses, the battles, the shipmates. Everything. If they don't have a captain to follow…' Luffy faltered, 'If the crew don't have a captain, then how can they win?'

'How would I know?' Gyoru huffed, 'I've not seen Shanks' crew fight before. And if the marines find their ship and defeat his crew, then good! That'll be one less rebellious gang of monsters to worry about.'

'I don't know for sure if they can't win, but-'

'They can't!' Gyoru shouted. He sighed as he saw the hurt in Luffy's eyes. 'Look Luffy, I came here to explain myself. If you want me to apologise, then that's fine. But let me make this clear, I will not hand over the rowboat. If those pirates want it, they'll have to come and get it.' Gyoru straitened his back slightly, as if having just announced something extremely impressive. Luffy scoffed.

'They'd kill you in an instant!' Luffy shouted reasoning to Gyoru.

'They can't attack me during the day. If they start havoc at night and I call out and someone hears, they won't be able to use this place as a base anymore. The villagers already know their faces; people are watching.'

'So what if they can't use this village as base?' Luffy protested, 'At least they'll be alive and able to rejoin their crew!'

Gyoru faltered slightly, he had not thought of that, 'Well,' he said, 'If they do come and try to retrieve their boat, then they will know what the villager's response will be.'

'They can win against villagers,' Luffy pouted, 'We're so weak… and they're so strong…'

'How do you know?

Gyoru's sudden question cut Luffy as he realised that he did _not_ know. He had never seen them fight, he had not heard of them before, he had never heard of any of their victories. He faltered. How did he know they would win against villagers? 'Villagers get scared easy.' He said defensively.

'Not if they band together,' Gyoru argued, 'Have you ever seen an angry mob, Luffy? Mobs of villagers have killed many pirates in the past.'

The new information shocked Luffy and he could find nothing to say in return. Mobs of _villagers_ had killed pirates before? 'That's a lie!' he shouted.

'It's not a lie!' Gyoru shouted back in return, 'It's not.' He said, 'Your grandfather told me.'

Luffy stared at Gyoru, the man he had once so respected. He had been one of the people closest to him, along with Makino. Makino… she was still helping Shanks and Yasopp. But would she continue? Yes. She had given her word. Of course she wouldn't turn them in to the marines; that, at least, he could be sure of.

'Even if it's true,' Luffy said, 'Shanks won't be defeated by this village, or by you, or by Gramps!' And with that, he ran back into the undergrowth, tears threatening to spill down his face, but he would not let them fall and he rubbed them away quickly. He charged through the forest and trees, all the way back to Makino's house where his captain awaited his return.

* * *

><p>Upon opening the door, both shipmates had bristled before they realised it was only their 7 year old friend.<p>

'Luffy!' Shanks breathed in relief, 'Where did you go?'

'I went to see Gyoru,' Luffy replied, 'He has your rowboat.'

'Gyoru? That fat fishmonger we met a while back?' Yasopp asked uncertainly. 'Are you sure?'

'He told me,' Luffy replied and he made his way over to Makino's settee and sat down. He drew his arms up to his face and rested his chin in his hands, his elbows balanced on his knees. Shanks approached him. Yasopp kept a polite distance and privately decided that he would not intervene.

'Luffy, what's wrong?' he asked, 'If Gyoru has our ship, we can easily get it back from him. What's the problem? Why are you sad?' He sat down next to him.

'Gyoru…' Luffy hesitated, 'Gyoru said that mobs of villagers have killed pirate crews before.'

Shanks chuckled, 'Is that all you're worried about?' he beamed down at the boy, 'Well, you don't have to worry about that,' he said as he ruffled Luffy's hair.

'How come?' Luffy asked him.

'Well, that's because we won't lose of course.' Shanks smiled.

'How do you know?' The boy asked as he sat up properly to listen.

'How do I know that we won't lose? Because I decided it.' Shanks saw the confusion in Luffy's face and chuckled more, 'What is it? You don't believe me? Okay, let's put it this way; you told me that you had decided to become a pirate. Is that still true?'

Luffy nodded.

'_You_ decided you want to be a pirate, right? Then what's stopping you?' he paused a moment to let his words sink in, 'And I've decided that me and Yasopp won't be defeated. My crew won't be defeated. We will gain the trust of these villagers and we will use their island as our safebox.'

Luffy listened carefully to what Shanks was saying, but he still seemed unsure, 'But, but Gramps has an army…' he said uncertainly.

Shanks sighed and lifted his hand to pat Luffy on the head, 'Okay,' he said, 'Let's try this another way.' He lifted his little finger and held it near Luffy's face, 'I promise you, that we will win.'

Luffy gazed up at Shanks' grinning face that shone down at him without any sense of doubt or worry. There was something in the way that Shanks looked, smiled, and spoke that made Luffy instantly want to believe him. Luffy smiled at this thought and wrapped his own finger around Shanks', 'Okay!'

* * *

><p>The wind beat the sails of the Storm Chaser and the salty smell of the sea stung the air as the shipmates hastened around the sip, following orders, studying sea maps, taking notes, and, above all, searching aimlessly for the Red Force, the ship owned by the Red Hair Pirates.<p>

Garp stood, by himself, against one of the ship's railings. He had left a high level marine in charge of the steering in order to gain a bit of private time. They had already looked high and low for the Red Force all about where it had been sighted, but with no luck. It seemed as though the ship had just vanished. His eyebrows narrowed as he wondered what to do in this situation, just as a mate approached him.

The crewmate saluted him and said, 'Captain Garp, the crew is awaiting your definite order on what to do, sir!'

Garp eyed the chosen messenger boy. He was slight and a new recruit, a rare sight on board a marine ship as highly thought of as the Storm Chaser. He scoffed slightly as the recruit shivered under his captain's cold stare. 'We'll dock on the island where the Red Hair Pirates' ship was sighted,' he said slowly, turning his gaze back on the ocean, 'Then I'll send out a troop to ask around. There's a high chance that someone may have seen something. Dismissed.'

'Yes, sir, Captain Garp, sir!' The recruit flushed as he scurried away to deliver the order to the pilot. Garp smirked at the fright in the marine's voice. There was barely any difference between his and the oldest of soldiers.

* * *

><p><strong>So, what are your thoughts?<br>I named Garp's ship the Storm Chaser because I could not find the name of his actual ship a_nywhere_! Bear in mind, this is the past, so maybe he probably doesn't have the boat with the dog head yet.  
>Also, I made Luffy more uncertain and less sure of his actions than how he is in the mangaanime because, even if it is Luffy, I like to think that his way of thinking was heavily influenced by Shanks' actions when he was a child (what he don't see - or haven't yet seen - in the story).**


	17. The Name in the Pot

**This took longer for me to type up than expected, but chapter 17 is now officially out!**

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><p>The light of the evening's moon shone through strips and gaps of the curtain window of Makino's living room. She had managed to get the evening shift off that night and in exchange, she now had around her table two pirates and a boy, each lost deep in thought as they wondered what to do about Gyoru. Yasopp sighed restlessly now and then and Luffy played with his hands, looping the fingers in and around each other. Their captain sat at the head of the table, his back pressed against his chair as he rocked backwards and forwards every now and then, his hands pressed together, thinking. Makino sat next to Luffy, not entirely sure what to do with herself in such a situation.<p>

Soon, she came to a decision, 'Shall I make some tea for everyone?'

'Thank you, Makino,' said Yasopp appreciatively, 'That'd be lovely.'

'You don't have any wine, do you?' Shanks asked hopefully from under his hat.

'Sorry,' the girl smiled apologetically, 'I don't drink alcohol.'

Shanks' smile faded a little, 'I suppose that makes sense, you working in a bar and all… You must see all sorts stumble in and out of there.' He sighed before he regained his usual cheerful demeanor, 'Thank you,' he said, 'Tea sounds nice.'

Makino smiled as she stood up and moved round to her kitchen, which was joined in the same room as the living room. The pirates and Luffy watched her as she got out mugs and a kettle and observed her as she boiled the water over the stove. 'Do any of you want sugar?' she asked.

'Me,' said Luffy, 'I do.'

'I'll have some too, thanks, Makino.' Said Shanks.

Still smiling, Makino reached up into the cupboard above her counter and took out the china sugar pot that the mayor had given her. She set it down on the table in front of Shanks, who immediately straightened in his seat. Quickly, he took the pot in his hands, his fingers caressing over the blue anchor painted onto it as he stared at it, lost in thought. He looked to Makino in surprise, 'Where did you get this?' he asked.

Makino paused a moment before replying, 'The mayor found it on shore about a week ago. He gave it to me. It must have fallen off a cargo ship.'

Shanks stared at the pot again, and Yasopp looked round to inspect it as well, 'Is that…?' he asked, somehow unable to finish the sentence, and Shanks nodded.

'What is it?' said Luffy, 'Is there something special about it?'

Shanks chuckled lightly, 'You could say that,' he said as Makino passed the tea around, 'This came from my ship.'

Makino bristled and she froze. She stared at the pirates who studied the sugar pot intensely. Were they angry? She gulped at the thought of angry pirates after her… But surely, Shanks would understand? Right? He did not seem like the pirates she had heard of, after all.

The very captain in question seemed to notice her worry and immediately calmed her, 'Don't worry, Makino, you can keep it. We'd only just stolen it ourselves. Must have fallen overboard when we were loading the cargo onto the ship. Still I'm surprised it fell off – I told the boys to be careful with it. But it's amazing that it found its way here, to the very island we were heading for.'

Makino dipped her head, and seemed about to apologise, but Yasopp lifted a hand to her as if to tell her that there was no need, so instead she sat down back in her place and took a small sip of her tea. Luffy's hands rested around the steaming cup in his hands as he gazed at the pot fondly, 'An anchor…' he murmured quietly to himself.

Shanks looked up at the boy, 'Yes,' he said, 'Funny you should be interested in the anchor. It is, after all, the mark of the marines.'

'Is it?' Luffy asked, and all at once, he seemed to have no more interest in the little sugar pot, 'That sucks,' he sulked, 'I don't like it anymore if it's from the marines.' He pouted.

Shanks laughed, 'Even if you don't like marines, it's still a very nice pot. Quite expensive too. You should sell it, Makino. You could get a fortune off of it.'

Makino laughed lightly, 'Off of a sugar pot? It's very pretty, but how could something so small ever bring in any money?'

Shanks shrugged, 'Depends who it belonged to,' he smiled, 'This little, seemingly ordinary sugar pot,' he took off the lid and held it out for Luffy and Makino to see the inside of it, 'Was not made for marines. Do you see the name written here?'

As Luffy and Makino leant forwards to read the name imprinted inside, curly and written in gold in the interior of the lid, their eyes grew wide and their mouths opened slightly. They stared at one another and read the name again, just to make sure they had seen it correctly. Then, Makino exclaimed, 'But this says Gol D. Roger on it!'

Shanks laughed at their expressions, Makino's, full of surprise, and Luffy's, full of a new-born adoration for the little sugar pot. It seemed he had quickly rediscovered his love for it.

Makino stared at the pot, 'So that's why it's expensive…' she said, 'But how did you get it?' she asked, although she was already pretty sure of the answer already.

Shanks laughed, 'We stole it, naturally. But I think your town needs it more than us. When I said you could sell it for a fortune, I meant it. This little piece of china could make this poor little fishing town rich.'

'Really?' Makino thought out loud.

'Sure,' said Yasopp, 'We stole that just a little over a week ago, and that was the only thing we stole. No one was caught either, so I'm sure they must have filed a missing report; it's such a rare and valuable item. Anything that once belonged to the pirate king gets sold at a high price these days - it's a good market. If you turned it in and said it washed ashore, you could get a fortune!'

'Wow,' was all Makino could say as she stared at the sugar pot, 'Are you sure we can have this? If we could get some more money, we could make some repairs… buy a bit more medicine, hire a few new doctors…' she trailed off in thought as she started to list more possibilities in her head.

'Sure you can!' Shanks smiled, 'Me and my crew have more fun stealing items than getting the rewards for them anyway. Besides, if Red Hair Shanks did a good deed like giving in lost goods, it could seriously harm my reputation as a pirate,' he chuckled as he took a swig of tea, before bringing his mug down quickly and exclaiming, 'Still too hot!'

'But something like this… it must be worth thousands!' Makino exclaimed, 'I can't accept this.'

'More than thousands, I think. It's amazing how much people will pay for something that belonged to the pirate king,' said Yasopp, 'But honestly, you can have it. It's all yours.' He smiled.

'Hang on,' said Luffy, 'Why would we spend this money on something boring like repairs? We should use it for something fun!'

Shanks grinned at the boy, 'True, repairs sound boring. If you got given heaps of gold, what would you do with it, Luffy?'

The boy thought for a while, but in the end he could not think of anything other than a ship for him to set sail in and barrels full of meat. 'What would you get, Shanks?' he asked, resting his head in his hands.

Shanks rubbed his chin slightly in thought until an idea came to him, 'A bronze statue!' he said excitedly.

Yasopp almost choked on his tea, 'A bronze statue?' he questioned his captain, 'Why a bronze statue when you could get one made out of gold?'

'Because, why not?' was Shanks' only answer and he laughed at the thought of it. Spending gold on bronze definitely seemed like a very silly thing to waste it all on, but Luffy's eyes glowed at the thought of it.

'Yeah! A bronze statue! Makino, let's get one! Can we? Please?' he pleaded with her and he tugged on her arm.

'Luffy, I haven't even decided whether we can accept the money yet!' She said in return.

'Oh go on, take it.' Shanks egged on, 'What would we do with it anyway, other than spend it on a few barrels of ale and a feast to celebrate? Fuchsia needs it more than we do.' Seeing Makino's look of guilt he was about to continue, but all of a sudden something seemed to click in his head and he sat up straighter, 'Hold on a minute,' he said, 'I think I may have just gotten an idea. Makino, you said the mayor found this pot, right?'

'Huh? Yes,' Makino said, 'He gave it to me as a gift.'

'The mayor, huh?' Shanks' shoulders seemed to droop a little, as if he were now unsure of his idea, 'I'm not sure he'd be keen on this then… Does anyone else know that he gave it to you?'

Makino shrugged, not really understanding why this was of any importance, 'I don't think so. His secretary might, but I doubt he told anyone else. Why?'

As all eyes lay on the captain, he thought for a minute before saying, 'Say, do you think if we asked him, he could say that I gave the town this sugar pot, and that he never saw it before in his life?'

'Why would he do that?' Yasopp asked uncertainly, but he was silenced quickly by one look of his captain.

'I suppose he might if he had a reason to,' Makino said, 'Why?'

'Well, I was just thinking,' said Shanks, and he began to tell his new friends and his shipmate of his plan.

'That's a great plan!' said Makino, 'No one would give you up!' she said.

'And you'd be able to use this island as your safety box!' Luffy exclaimed excitedly, bouncing up and down on his chair and clapping his hands wildly, 'You'll be able to come back!' he shouted, only to be silenced by Makino as she reminded him that they weren't meant to be heard. He clamped his hands over his mouths and nodded.

'But what if the mayor doesn't agree to it?' Yasopp asked uncertainly.

'He'll have to,' said Shanks, 'Otherwise we'll have to move out.'

The team then passed onto the subject of Shanks' ship. As they called into the boat and listened to all that had happened in the past few days, they learned that the crew aboard the Red Force were currently safe and undercover deep in the ocean. They had stocked up on supplies at a quiet island away from any large towns or cities where they were more likely to be recognised, and had kept a low profile since then. In all, it seemed very unlikely that the marines were going to find them.

'Good,' said Shanks, 'That puts my mind at ease.' He sighed as he hung up on his first mate. 'Now all we have left to worry about is convincing the mayor.'

'And what to do about the rowboat,' added Luffy.

'I think the mayor will be okay with it,' said Makino, 'He loves this town so much.'

Her friends around the table nodded, and they spoke of putting their plan into action immediately. After quickly downing the rest of her tea, Makino rose from her chair and headed toward the door, only stopping to quickly tie the kerchief around her head a little, then she exited the little house and walked up to the mayor's house at a brisk pace.

* * *

><p>'Captain, we've looked everywhere. We even raided suspected houses. There's no sign of them,' said a marine recruit to very bad-tempered Garp. He didn't dare break his salute or rest his arm.<p>

Garp sighed before he slammed his fist down onto his desk, causing his water glass to wobble a little, 'How could an entire pirate ship have just disappeared into thin air?' he exclaimed. But as he saw the marine quiver in his boots, he only grew more angry with the messenger, 'You don't know, do you? You have no idea!' He stood up and grabbed the marine by his collar before dragging him toward the door to his study on-board the ship and thrusting him outside. He slammed the door on the poor marine loudly before returning to his desk.

He stayed with his elbows resting on his desk, his clamped fists pressed against his lips for a good while. He thought over possible strategies on how to find the meddling Red Force but could think of none. So no one on the island had spotted them? That meant that they had set sail without getting any supplies on the island they had anchored at. But how had they gotten wind of Garp's ship on its trail? After all, it was a very uncommon thing for a pirate to carry around any means of communication. It just wasn't what they did. He narrowed his brows in thought.

Swivelling in his chair, he spun around to stare out into the ocean. He thought of Luffy. That boy had been so frightened for Shanks' safety when he had heard that he was after their ship. Worrying about other pirates; he was so much like his father… Had Luffy somehow managed to warn Shanks? Fury shot through Garp as he thought of the possibility, but he calmed soon enough. There was no way the boy could have told the pirates.

His hand met his face as he sighed at the thought of the huge mistake he had made. He should have left straight away to catch Shanks and his shipmate as soon as they had left instead of delaying. And he would have set straight out too, had Luffy not insulted him and angered him so much that afternoon. And if the villagers hadn't pleaded with him to stay. But why hadn't he been informed earlier? He understood, the villagers were scared and hadn't wanted to come out of their hiding places, but he could have stopped them for good instead of letting him just go on to the next island!

His fingers drummed onto the edges of the chair. Searching for the Red Force seemed to no longer be of any use. He sighed. It looked like he was going to have to return home empty handed for once.

* * *

><p>By now, it was early evening, and most of the villagers were already home, but it seemed that Clarissa worked at the mayor's place almost 247. Makino silently wondered whether she had a room there as she was let in by the narrow-eyed secretary. And as the mayor exited his study, she noticed how his demeanour had changed since that morning. He seemed more tired than usual, although it was only eight o'clock, his eyes were a little sunken and his remaining hair was a bit of a mess.

Still he greeted her as cheerfully as he could manage, 'Makino,' he sighed happily as he saw her enter his house, 'What can I do for you at this time?'

Makino glanced at Clarissa, unsure of whether she should say anything in front of her or not. In the end, she decided what would be best, 'Could you come to my house?' she asked.

The mayor narrowed his eyes, 'What are you going to get me to tell you this time? I already told you, I don't have the rowboat. And I still don't know who does! I've been asking round, searching all day, and I still can't find it!' He dragged a hand down his face in annoyance.

'It's not about the rowboat. We know who has it now – Gyoru took it. But please, forget that a moment and just come. We-' she glanced at Clarissa, whose eyes seemed to be more narrowed than usual as she tried to follow the conversation that she obviously knew nothing of, 'I mean, _I _think I may have thought of something to help our town. But we – I – need your consent, mayor.'

The mayor thought for a moment before he gave in and sighed, 'Alright. I'll come with you. Clarissa,' he turned to his secretary, 'You can go home for the night. Thank you for all of your efforts today.' He smiled at the secretary who only nodded in return before she disappeared into another room, one that Makino suspected had her own desk inside.

'So, shall we go?' the mayor grumbled. He definitely didn't seem keen on the idea of going back to Makino's house, and it wasn't surprising considered what had happened last time.

'Yes, mayor,' Makino smiled as she was led out the door and into the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Not that keen on how this chapter ended, but I'll try to make the next one end better.<br>For those of you who may have forgotten, in Chapter 12, "The Courses of Action", Makino and mayor Woop Slap, under Luffy's request, asked them to lie to Garp. So he thinks that they left straight away instead of waiting till morning to set out.  
>Also, I really just couldn't help but put the bronze statue in... :) I've always wondered why Luffy would want one.<br>**

**ALSO: Now that I am on holiday and have little else to do, I should be a lot faster. I think. I hope. Fingers crossed?**


	18. The Agreement

**Phew. This took longer to write than I expected.**

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><p>'Absolutely not!' shouted the mayor as he rose from his seat, only to be pushed back down by Yasopp, 'Why on <em>earth <em>would I lie to my people just so that you can get all the glory?'

'Your "people",' Shanks smiled wanly at the mayor's use of words as he let the height of his thigh rest against Makino's dining room table, 'Need the money.'

'So why don't I just sell the pot myself?' the mayor demanded, 'After all, I _found_ the blasted thing on this shore. Yes, I gave it to Makino, but that just means we'll sell it together. Then we'll spend it on the village.' He crossed his arms over his chest.

Yasopp jumped into the conversation, 'But mayor, if you would just-'

'I am _not _lying again! First you make me lie and tell Garp, a _marine captain _of all people, that you'd already left the island when I knew you hadn't, and then you made me lie to my secretary as to why I was looking for the rowboat! I _will not_ lie again.' He stood up once more to leave, but this time was met by Luffy.

The boy said nothing as he stood in between the elderly man and the front door, but then again he didn't need to. He stared up at the old man, eyes narrowed in a glare, his arms crossed tight around his chest, his mouth set in a frown. The mayor sighed as he sunk back down into the chair, 'Fine. I'll listen,' he rubbed his temples, 'I must be going mad. Why should I do this for you?'

'If you do this for us, then we will come back-' Shanks started, only to be re-interrupted.

'I don't want you to come back! Haven't you brought this island trouble enough?'

'Mayor, if you don't let them speak, you won't be able to leave,' Makino gently said to her senior, resting one hand on his shoulder. The mayor calmed again.

'We will come back,' continued Shanks, 'And we will spend all the money we can spare on your bars, on your cafés, and on any supplies that we may need, such as food and alcohol,' He placed a hand on the table and arched his back so he was eye level with the mayor, as if about to tell a great secret, 'And let me assure you, my crew can eat a hell of a lot when they're hungry.' He grinned.

The mayor stared at the pirate, immediately understanding how this would bring in quite a good deal of money to his humble village. But as soon as he gave it a moment's thought, he shook his head, already set on a decision, 'No,' he grumbled as he refused to make eye contact, 'I will not be responsible for bringing pirates back to this village.' But he seemed regretful.

Shanks sighed and he too, sunk into a chair, 'Then I guess we'll just have to take the pot back.'

The mayor stared in disgust as the pirate captain reclaimed the sugar pot from Makino, who gave it to him far too willingly. 'Hey! That's not fair; I found it.' Protested the mayor.

'Yes,' chuckled Yasopp, 'And we stole it.'

The mayor sunk lower into his chair, defeated. Makino swivelled round next to him and spoke to him from behind, 'I thought you'd accept their proposition,' she sighed, 'After all, you love this poor village _so_ much. I was certain that you would want to make some repairs here and there. Although, I'm sure you know what's best.' She hung her head.

The mayor looked guiltily back at Makino and he thought of his village. Although the villagers didn't ever seem to notice or care about the state they lived in, they definitely needed to bring in some cash; they couldn't live off of each other and their rather pitiful spread of land forever. He sighed, his mind now swirling at the thought of riches, 'What's the catch?'

Shanks stared up at him as if unbeknownst to what he was talking about, 'I'm sorry?' he asked innocently.

'What's the catch to you giving us the pot and spending the money on us when you visit? What do you get out of this?' From behind him, Luffy's frown changed upward into a smile and he knew they'd gotten him.

'Oh, that,' Shanks smiled. He took off his hat and started turning it round in his hand, preoccupying them, 'Well, my crew is in dire need of a safebox,' he admitted, 'We would use this island as a treasure deposit box, I suppose you could say. We'd already found the perfect place too. Hidden, secret, safe from harm.' He placed his straw hat smoothly back on his head, 'But I guess that's too bad.' He sighed and he stood up, 'Come on Yasopp, let's go take our rowboat back from Gyoru and then let's leave this island. Luffy, show us the way.'

'Aye, aye, cap'n!' the boy shouted in response and the three of them headed to the door, Shanks holding the sugar pot firmly in his hand.

He was about to turn the knob when he was stopped by a quiet voice that grinded them to a halt. 'Stop.'

And Shanks turned to see the mayor staring up at his from his seat. He waited for the mayor to continue, but the old man took his time in standing to face the pirates. He swallowed hard before he went any further, swallowing his pride, 'Okay, you got me.' He sighed rather sheepishly, 'This village needs work done, and to get that… well, we need that money.' He rubbed the back of his neck, gesturing the sugar pot in the captain's arms with his free hand, embarrassed by the whole situation, 'Although I hate to take in stolen money-'

But before he could continue, Luffy had already bounded up to him, eyes wide and mouth turned upwards in a grin, 'You mean it?' Luffy asked, 'They can use this island? They can come back?'

Mayor Woop Slap stared down at the young boy, at first exasperated by his energy and eagerness in the boy's reaction at the pirate's promised return, but then his lips curved into a half-smile and he nodded. Luffy's expression just seemed to warm his heart. He seemed so innocent. He thought of the other boys and girls of his age – none of them paid him any attention. How could he deny close company to a boy who always seemed so alone?

'Yahoo!' Luffy shouted and he lifted clenched fists in the air. He ran to Shanks, 'Shanks! Did you hear? Did ya? You can use this island!' he exclaimed.

Shanks laughed at Luffy's outburst. He had been so quiet since the mayor had arrived up until that point. Had he really been that worried? Shanks shrugged it off as he observed Makino attempt to quiet the boy's triumphant cries. Shanks rustled the boy's hair and he smiled fondly, 'Yeah, Luffy. I heard.'

He turned his gaze to the mayor and he smiled at him too, 'Here,' he said, and he handed the pot carefully back over to the mayor, 'Knew I could count on you.'

* * *

><p>Mayor Woop Slap fidgeted with his shirt as he waited for the hour. It was the following day and he had managed to round up all the villagers for an "important announcement" – that was how he had put it anyway. And sure enough, as he gazed outside his living room window, he breathed inwards as he saw the small crowds milling around outside his front door.<p>

It wasn't like it was surprising that the whole village had turned up. After all, it wasn't every day that the mayor called for a surprise event; and on an island as small as Dawn Island, news travelled fast. He even recognised some people from outlining villages. Still, he worried. Would everything go well and according to plan?

Shortly, his secretary entered, her hair in its usual tight bun, her mouth once again set in a straight line, 'Mayor Woop Slap,' she said, bringing his attention away from the window, 'It's noon.' She eyed the two figures sitting on the mayor's sofas suspiciously, but she did not ask.

The mayor nodded, but he could not help but glance at his old clock for confirmation. He thanked the girl as she left the room to join the crowds herself, as she too was also unaware of what the mayor would be announcing that day.

He turned to look at the pirates that had been gathered in the living room. Shanks and Yasopp were waiting for him by the door, both of them smiling warmly up at him from the hard sofas. Makino was somewhere outside in the crowd with Luffy. The mayor sighed; he just had a feeling that he was going to regret this.

'You'll be great, Mayor!' Yasopp smiled as the mayor approached the front door.

'Remember everything we told you.' Shanks chimed in as the mayor's hand touched the doorknob.

The pirates had followed him down the corridor as he had made his way down to the front door where his "people" awaited. He paused briefly before opening it and turned to the pirates, 'Don't miss your queue.' He said simply.

'Don't worry,' Shanks smiled, 'We'll be listening in the whole time.'

The mayor nodded as he opened the door, and the pirates quickly ducked out of sight of the crowd, who all turned expectantly towards the mayor.

A box had been set outside for him to stand on just outside his front door, so that all the villagers could get a good enough view of him. Hesitantly, he stood on it as he faced the crowd. He called for silence and almost immediately, the whisperings stopped.

'Villagers of Fuchsia, I am sure you are all wondering why I have called for such a meeting,' he began, surveying the looks of confusion, worry and interest of the people in the crowd. He forced a smile, 'What I am to tell you now is a little shocking, I should warn you, but please, do not be alarmed. There is nothing to worry about.' But even as he said these words, he saw how the nervous glances amongst the villagers only increased. He easily spotted Luffy and Makino side by side, near the front row.

The mayor sighed, 'What I have to say is well… hard to believe, to say the least. Even I took some convincing!', he chuckled, 'What I have to say is…' he scratched his head as he thought over the best way to explain, 'Well…' he trailed off. The crowd waited for him to continue, but something was stopping the mayor from speaking.

And suddenly, the door opened. Out strode a tall, red-haired man with a straw hat, and instantly, the crowds' eyes all trailed to the one man who towered over the mayor. One woman shrieked as she recognised the man she had seen only a few days ago and, somewhere off, a child started crying. Nevertheless, he smiled at their reactions, and at the mayor's alike.

'Shanks!' the mayor hissed, 'This wasn't your queue!'

'There's been a change in the timetable since you were taking so long,' Shanks smiled at the mayor. He was still taller, even though the latter was standing on the box.

Instantly, a commotion started up as the villagers panicked at the sight at the pirate, and the mayor desperately tried to call for everyone to calm down. Confusion set in as the crowd wondered why the mayor was defending a pirate, and most found themselves rooted to the spot in fear of the powerful men that stood before them.

A voice rose above the crowd's that called for silence, but it was neither the captain's nor the mayor's. The boy had appeared at Shanks' heel, unobserved and unnoticed to the crowd, but as his voice had risen in his shout of '_Shut up!_', the people stood on tip toes to observe the small boy who had spoken.

'Get away from there!' a woman shouted, 'Don't you know he's a pirate?'

'Of course I know he's a pirate!' Luffy pouted and he crossed his arms, 'I'm not stupid!'

A fat man in a fishmonger's outfit pushed forward through the crowd, 'Luffy!' he shouted, 'Get out of there! He's dangerous!'

'Dangerous?' Shanks laughed, 'Well, maybe a little,' he teased, but he instantly regretted those words as the commotion started up again.

'Way to go, cap'n,' Yasopp sighed.

Shanks only smiled at his shipmate, 'People of Fuchsia!' Shanks called above the mass, 'May I have your attention, _please_?' but seeing as the crowd did nothing of the sort, he drew out his sword and pushed it to the mayor's neck, 'I said quiet!'

As the crowd stood and stared in horror at the scene, Shanks withdrew his sword and replaced it in his scabbard, 'Good,' he sighed, 'Now that I have your attention, maybe we can begin.' He surveyed the crowd, but no one dared move or even speak now. 'Yasopp, the pot.'

Yasopp nodded and he hurried back inside the mayor's, only to come back out moments later with the china sugar pot firmly in his hands. He showed it to the crowd.

'This,' Shanks pointed to it, 'Is a pot once owned by Gol D. Roger,' he watched as the faces of the crowd tuned once more to confusion, 'It is worth roughly 50 million beli.' He watched as the crowd gaped at the pot in surprise, 'Perhaps more if we can find a good bidder. My point is; I am offering you this pot, in exchange for peace between this island and my crew.'

Gasps rose up from the crowd and a few protests started, 'How can we trust you?' Gyoru shouted.

'If I wanted to harm any of you,' Shanks' gaze turned on the fishmonger, 'Why wouldn't I have done so already? And what would I gain from it?'

At this, Gyoru fell silent, but a new voice rose, this one coming from a dark haired woman near the back of the crow, 'And what's in it for you?'

Shanks smiled, 'My crew needs a place to store our treasures. We have found the perfect place. All I ask for in return is that you don't tell the marines of our whereabouts.'

Mutterings started as the people considered his proposition, 'We will not harm anyone on this island, so long as you do not touch our treasure. We will spend our loot on your bars and you may use this pot for whatever you wish.' He smiled as he recognised the glints of greed that shone in the eyes of some of the closer-minded, but he still recognised the fear in most of the women.

'How can we trust someone like you?' shouted one woman who had her hand securely around a child's shoulders.

'Of course you can trust him!' Luffy shouted at her, 'Why wouldn't you be able to? He's obviously a good guy!' Shanks chuckled at this.

More arguments grew at the boy's words however, and someone shouted 'You're just a boy with a foolish ambition! You don't understand!'

'Shut up!' Luffy yelled back, 'My dream isn't stupid! Yours is!'

'I trust this man,' a voice rose softly and everyone stared at the man who had spoken – the mayor, 'Not to harm anyone,' he stepped forward, drawing the attention away from the pirates momentarily, 'He only seeks what is in his own interests. But I do not believe he or his crew will harm anyone of this island.'

The crowd stared at the mayor in shock. Shanks stared at the man, just as surprised by his little speech. The mayor trusted him? Shanks' smile grew as he observed the mayor, and somewhere in the crowd, Makino spoke up too.

'I trust this man.' She said softly.

'I trust all of their crew!' Luffy countered.

'I trust the crew.' The Mayor spoke. He caught the eye of his secretary and she nodded her head. She understand what he wanted her to do.

'I trust them.' She claimed, her gaze never leaving the mayor, and she knew she would be offered a full explanation of the past day's events.

Slowly, more and more of the crowd raised their voices. Makino was known thorough the village as a kind girl - kind, but intelligent. And the mayor was known for his intelligence too. This thought in their simple minds gave them hope and promise that what they were agreeing with was right. And soon, almost everyone in the crowd was convinced.

'We have only one more request,' Shanks smiled, 'Do not tell Garp anything of this, whatsoever.'

The crowd raised their voices as they swore not to tell. Of course, many of the villagers were still worried about the agreement, but the force of those who were confident that all was fine overpowered them. Gyoru stood silently in his place. He had not spoken a word since his outburst.

'Then with that thought in mind,' Shanks handed the pot over to the mayor, 'I give this island a very special little sugar pot.'

The crowd cheered as they saluted and waved at the pirates who waved in return. Luffy joined in too, basking in the applause and commotion. But Yasopp suddenly nudged his captain, 'Cap'n,' he whispered, 'Shouldn't we remind these guys that we _are _pirates? If they find our loot…' Shanks nodded in return and directed the crowd.

'And one more thing,' he smiled deviously and the crowd fell silent, 'Should any of you happen to stumble across my treasure,' he pushed his hat down so his eyes couldn't be seen, 'You'll forever be the enemies of the Red Hair Pirates.' He gave the crowd a threatening glare, and they immediately understood.

* * *

><p>The celebrations lasted all evening and all night long. The grown-ups drank and the kids played. The pirates told the villagers their stories of adventures and the villagers, no longer quite as scared of the Red Hair Pirates but still wary, sucked up every inch of them. They would be re-telling their stories for years. Yasopp joked and flirted with the island's prettier women and Luffy stayed forever by Shanks' side, listening intently to the tales he told, wide-eyed, eager to know all the endings. The news of the famous sugar pot had spread far all over the island, and soon all of Dawn Island had joined in with Fuchsia's dancing and celebrating.<p>

But there was one person who did not partake in the celebrations. A lone fishmonger stood in the shadows, watching as the people he grew up with as they partied all night long, drinking, joking, laughing… He had never seen the village in such a state of happiness. He sighed, reluctant to join the fun, wafting those who asked him why he frowned away. He had tried catching Luffy's eye a few times, but the boy had been oblivious to him as he lurked in the shadows. He returned home early.

* * *

><p><strong>So, what are your thoughts?<br>I'm not that keen on the ending of this chapter much. I was originally planning on putting the last two paragraphs in the NEXT chapter, but I decided it fit better here.  
>TTFN~<br>Ta Ta For Now~**


	19. The Smoke in the Garden

**So, I haven't uploaded anything in.. a long time. I'm sorry!  
>I won't bore you with reasons. Just know that I haven't given up on this story yet!<strong>

* * *

><p>The pirate captain stirred the next morning in amongst the fluffy duvet of a warm bed fully clothed. Shanks blinked his eyes open and rubbed away sleep before glancing sleepily around him, and was surprised to see Yasopp snoozing next to him in the double bed. He chuckled slightly at his shipmate's sleeping form; mouth slightly ajar, snoring loudly, when his leg brushed something else under the covers.<p>

Blinking, he raised the covers so he could peer under, and sure enough, another sleeping form lay there in a huddle in between him and his crewmate – Luffy.

Shanks smiled as he stood and carefully drew Luffy back to where he himself had been sleeping and let the boy use his pillow.

He glanced around the room. It was very small room, the only furniture being the seemingly quite old double bed with a pink and white checkered mattress thrown over it, and a dressing table. A doily patterned cloth had been laid carefully over the top. The walls were painted a soft cream. There was a window sill, and on it stood a light blue vase of flowers. He knew straight away that it must be Makino's room. Although having spent his past few days at Makino's place, he had never ventured into this room before, considering it rude to go in uninvited.

He opened the door and stepped out into the familiar living room where he saw Makino, already awake, watering the flowers she had lined in the lounge's window sill.

'Thank you,' he started, watching as she jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, not having heard him come in at all, 'For letting us all sleep in your bed last night. But you shouldn't have let us, really.'

Makino laughed, 'And let the brave pirate captain and his crew of two, sleep on the ground outside my house?'

Shanks blinked, 'Were we? Oh… I'm sorry,' he laughed.

'It's no problem, really,' Makino smiled as she continued watering her flowers.

Shanks drew out a chair and sat himself down at the dining room table and wondered what to do next. He was quite comfortable with the silence that followed as he watched Makino water the rest of her plants. When she had finished, Makino made herself some tea.

'So what will happen now?' she asked as she sat down opposite him at the table.

'Well, when Yasopp and Luffy are up, I guess we'll go get our rowboat. Luffy said Gyoru has it. It's a pain but we'll just have get it back from him.'

'And then?'

Shanks smiled, 'Then I'll call my ship back to the place where we first left my crew, provided Garp's not around of course. Then, me and Yasopp will load the rowboat with our treasure and put it in our safe.'

'Why not just let the ship itself dock here?' Makino asked.

Shanks rested his elbows on the table's rough surface, 'Well, we don't know if the marines are still keeping an eye on this island at the moment, so the ship shouldn't be seen here. A rowboat has far less chance of being spotted – especially if we keep to shallow waters,' he paused, thinking, 'Otherwise, we could end up getting the entire island into trouble,' he seemed thoughtful before he continued, smiling brightly, 'Then, when our safe is full, maybe we'll do a bit more partying afterwards, and then we'll be off again on our journeys to the Grand Line!'

Makino blinked in surprise as the Grand Line was mentioned, but then she just shook her head and smiled – really, it wasn't all that surprising. She would miss the captain and his shipmate when they left, and she knew all too well how much Luffy would miss them both too.

Just then, Yasopp came into the room, 'Yo,' he greeted them sleepily, 'Makino, you shouldn't have let us use your bed. But thanks a lot anyway.'

Makino smiled, 'It was nothing.'

Yasopp slumped down in the chair next to Shanks, 'So, we going to Gyoru's house now?'

'Before breakfast?' a new, higher-pitched voice came from the doorway and they all turned to see Luffy standing there, rubbing sleepy eyes.

Shanks laughed, 'Of course not! We have to have breakfast first, or we won't function properly.'

'You mean, _you_ won't function properly,' Yasopp grinned.

'Hey now, you wouldn't either,' Shanks punched his arm lightly.

Makino stood up to get breakfast ready, taking out jams and butter as well as rolls from the bread tin. Luffy galloped up to her and offered his assistance in the kitchen, which she accepted gladly. Taking orange and apple juices, Makino and Luffy laid the table. Shanks had tried to help too, but Makino had said that Luffy's help was enough already, so the two pirates sat at the table in comfortable silence, wondering what they might have in store for them that day.

As Luffy burst open the front door of Makino's house, the pirates followed him happily. Makino had already gone to work in the bar that day, and so it seemed the three would be going to Gyoru's house without her. Luffy skipped as they walked, ignoring the smiling and sometimes wary glances of the villagers he passed by. Although a lot of the island had accepted the pirates by now, it wasn't as if _everyone _was comfortable with the pirates' stay.

Shanks walked next to Yasopp at a slower pace than Luffy, musing how the young boy had to stop and wait for them to advance before he could carry on with his skip.

'There's Gyoru's house!' Luffy pointed to a fishmonger's in the middle of town, 'He lives on the floor above the shop.'

Yasopp smiled, 'Figures, I suppose.'

But Shanks had stopped walking, and as Yasopp turned to ask him what was wrong, his captain pointed to the same building and said, 'Smoke.'

And sure enough, behind the shop, in Gyoru's relatively small garden, smoke was billowing up into the air.

'Is he having a barbecue?' Luffy wondered aloud, but Shanks shook his head.

'I really hope that's not…' Yasopp trailed off, watching as the smoke billowed in the morning's wind, 'Aw, crap,' he grumbled.

Shanks broke into a sprint as he ran towards the house, quickly followed by Yasopp and Luffy. He pounded on the rickety wooden door, 'Open up!' he shouted, but there was no answer.

'What's wrong?' Luffy asked, 'What's bad about smoke?'

But Shanks ignored the boy's question and was just about ready to charge at the door when Yasopp called to him, 'We can go round the back!' he indicated a narrow gap between the houses.

Shanks nodded. If he was to keep on good terms with the villagers, he probably shouldn't damage their properties. Together, the three scurried down the passage and sure enough, there in front of them in the fishmonger's garden was the burning wreckage of a rowboat. Gyoru stood to the side of it, his back to the pirates, unaware of their presence.

Shanks drew a hand down his face, 'Terrific,' he stated quietly, now they'd have to buy a new one. And it had been a good quality little boat too, able to carry tons of gold at a time… he doubted anything on the island would be quite able to carry their load of treasure. He grimaced as he thought of all the journeys he'd have to take in order to get all his treasure into the safe. He glanced at Yasopp who, judging by the grimace that was set on his face, was thinking something along the same lines.

But Luffy's reaction was far different than Shanks had imagined. He ran the short distance to Gyoru and punched his thigh, taking the fishmonger by surprise as he swiveled round to face his attacker. 'Luffy!' he exclaimed, not entirely sure what to do about the whole situation.

'You idiot!' Luffy shouted, eyes clenched tightly as he continued to pound at Gyoru's, leg, although not doing any damage at all, 'Idiot!' he repeated and tears started to well in his eyes.

A hand rested on Luffy's shoulder, but it was not Gyoru's. Luffy turned round and looked into the soft eyes of the pirate captain, 'Shanks…' he mumbled.

'It's fine, Luffy,' Shanks smiled reassuringly, 'It was a good rowboat,' he cast his eyes at the bits of wood that burned wonderfully in the morning sunlight, hurting his eyes. By now, a few neighbors had turned up, having also spotted the smoke and wondered what had happened. Shanks' smile faded as he watched his boat burn to the ground, 'But we can easily get another one,' he said flatly.

Luffy bowed his head and turned in the direction of the boat. He watched it burn sadly before he suddenly cast his eyes on Gyoru. The fishmonger stood nearby, his expression somewhat unreadable, and Luffy could not tell if he was proud or sad. Still the boy stood in front of the fishmonger, eyes narrowed. The next words that came out of his mouth did not shock Gyoru, but they did the pirates.

'I hate you,' he said, all at once perfectly calm.

The sides of the fishmonger's mouth twitched into a sad smile, 'I know you do, Luffy.'

Luffy turned on his heel, fists clenched, and marched past the pirates, past the small throng of people, and turned the corner towards the dock. Shanks sighed as he watched Luffy go before he turned his gaze on Gyoru, 'You know,' he said, watching as Gyoru jumped when he spoke, 'You've only delayed us a couple days at most. There must be someone on this island who'll either lend us a boat or make one for us.'

'I know,' Gyoru said, 'It was out of principle.' He puffed up his chest, 'Maybe the idiots of this island will believe your phony stories, but I won't!' He watched as Shanks cocked an eyebrow before shrugging.

'Burning any kind of boat,' he said, 'Is a crime that should never be committed.' He cast one last look at the rowboat, before turning swiftly on his heel to pursue the boy, parting the crowd easily.

Yasopp hesitated before following. He glared daggers at Gyoru. The captain had not let on, but he knew that the longer they stayed there only endangered the villagers themselves. Gyoru had no idea what he had really done. Should Garp find out… Yasopp shook his head. He spat at Gyoru's feet before he turned to leave.

As Shanks gained speed with Luffy, the boy did not slow to wait for his captain. He said nothing to him as he continued to make his way down to the docks. He heard the sound of running feet and inclined his head slightly so he could see Yasopp running towards them. He panted slightly before regaining his breath.

'Where are we going?' Yasopp wondered aloud, 'To someone who can fix us with a boat?'

Shanks shook his head.

'Then where?' he asked.

'To the dock,' Luffy said quietly, 'But you don't have to come with me. You should find a new rowboat.' He shoved his hands into his pockets.

Shanks smiled slightly, 'And leave you all alone?' but Luffy did not reply.

As they approached the dock, Luffy slowed his pace a little. He sat down at the end of the pier, his feet dangling over the edge, nearly touching the water's surface. He rested his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his thighs, as he gazed out into the ocean. The pirates sat down on either side of him, waiting for Luffy to talk. Move. Anything. But the boy said and did nothing, and in the end, it was Yasopp who spoke first.

'You okay, Luffy?' he asked.

'Course I'm okay,' he replied a little harshly. He averted Yasopp's glance, 'You should go get a new boat. Someone in town can lend you one.'

'We can't go,' Shanks spoke up and Luffy turned on him, eyes seeking, 'Because we can't leave you all alone without making sure you're really okay.' Luffy opened his mouth to speak but Shanks halted him by putting his hand up, 'And we can tell you're not.' He watched, only slightly amused, as the boy gave up his arguing and continued to stare out into the vastness of the ocean.

'Why do you like to come here, Luffy?' Shanks asked suddenly.

'Huh?'

Shanks picked up a stone and made it skip across the calm morning waves, 'Why do you come to this dock when you're sad?'

'What kind of question is that?' Luffy sulked.

'Just answer,' Shanks smiled, 'You might surprise yourself. What does this place mean to you? Why is it precious?'

Yasopp sent a questioning look Shanks' way but he pretended not to notice, instead choosing to watch Luffy who by now was deep in thought. He seemed to be hesitating, but he definitely had an idea in mind.

'This dock…' Luffy started, not sure where any of this was going, 'Has a nice view?'

Shanks laughed, 'You could get a better view from up on that hill,' Shanks pointed to where Luffy had first spotted the pirates, way above on the hill near the flagpole.

Luffy thought this over, 'Well, it's tiring going all the way up there.'

'That can't be the only reason,' Shanks chuckled slightly, 'You come here when you were sad, didn't you? Why here?'

Luffy narrowed his eyes in thought, 'It makes me feel better, I suppose,' he trailed off.

'Oh?' Yasopp noised, 'And why is that?' he smiled kindly down at the young boy.

Luffy looked down at his knees as he started to swing his legs, 'Well,' he switched his glance to looking out to the ocean, 'Me and Gyoru used to come here a lot I suppose.'

'Used to?' ask Yasopp.

Luffy nodded, 'Before you and Shanks came. He changed suddenly when you got here. I don't know why.' He pouted slightly, annoyed, 'But we used to come fishing here together. And we'd talk. Sometimes bring snacks.'

'Why would you come here?' Shanks wondered, skipping another flat stone, 'There are much nicer places you could fish from. A deserted dock isn't the prettiest.'

Luffy nodded, 'That's cos Gyoru and I used to come here when he got an hour off work for lunch. We didn't have time to climb the hill or go to a better fishing area. So we'd come here instead.'

Shanks smiled, 'You know Luffy,' he said, throwing a stone and watching as it landed rather heavily in the water, 'Gyoru hasn't changed.'

Luffy stared up at Shanks quizzically and Yasopp gave him the same look. Shanks snickered. They weren't all that different from each other, really.

'He wouldn't have burned a boat if he was the same!' Luffy insisted, 'Gyoru was nice. Now he's…' he trailed off again, 'Now he's mean.' He said, unable to find a better word to describe the change of character he had seen in his friend.

'Gyoru's protected you for a long time, hasn't he?' Shanks grinned.

'Protected me?' Luffy repeated, 'Well, he once helped me out of trouble with the baker when I didn't have enough money I guess.'

Shanks laughed, 'Not quite what I meant. I'll rephrase it for you: he's always been there for you, right?'

Luffy blinked, 'I guess so.'

Yasopp caught on, 'And what do you think he's doing now?'

Luffy stared at the two pirates in turn before deciding, 'Not protecting me.'

Shanks smiled, 'That's where you're wrong, Luffy. Gyoru still doesn't trust us since we're pirates; and that's why he's not happy with you seeing us so much.'

Luffy raised his eyebrows, 'I don't know why he doesn't trust you,' he began, 'But that still doesn't explain the boat.'

'Ah, the boat,' Shanks said, 'He said he burned it out of principal.'

'Principal?' Luffy sounded the word, never having used it before.

'It means because of an idea or thought he believes in,' Yasopp supplied, 'He wanted to send a message.'

Luffy nodded, but neither pirate was really sure he really had any idea what they were talking about.

Shanks smiled slightly, 'He burned it to show us that he doesn't like the idea of us coming back, of us using this island, or of us seeing you ever again. He didn't burn it so we'd have a harder time unloading the cargo from our ship; but to give us the message that _he_'s still your protector.'

Luffy blinked as he stared up into Shanks' eyes, the usual darkness light in the sunlight, 'I don't really get it.'

Shanks sighed, 'I'll put it simply then,' he fiddled with his hat, 'Shanks burned the boat to say he doesn't want you to be caught up with dangerous, cut-throat pirates who he thinks will probably kill you in your sleep.'

Luffy stared up at his captain before asking, 'But… you wouldn't…?'

Yasopp laughed, 'Course not! But he thinks that cos he's scared of pirates! You see?'

'Ohhh,' Luffy noised, 'I see. So he thought he was helping me?'

Shanks nodded, 'That's the short of it,' he said.

They continued to stare out into the ocean in silence. Shanks gazed at Luffy out of the corner of his eye and was not surprised when the boy suddenly stood up.

'I'm going back to Gyoru,' he announced.

Shanks smiled. 'Along the way, can you show us to someone who could lend us a boat?"

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><p><strong>Let's hope the wait for the next chapter won't be so long this time.<strong>


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